Inflammatory Arthritis
Inflammatory arthritis is a group of diseases that includes: Rheumatoid
arthritis, spondyloarthropathies, systemic lupus, erythaematosus and
crystal-related arthropies.
Spondyloarthropathy - A joint disease that involves the vertebral column
(Image sourced from www.webmd.com, original from Healthwise, incorporated)
Includes:
Ankylosing spondylitis – fusion of the vertebrae especially the
sacroiliac joints.
Reactive arthritis – an autoimmune condition that develops in
response to an infection in another part of the body.
Psoriatic arthritis – develops in up to 30% of the people who have
the skin condition
The diseases involve the synovium and entheses (ligament and tendon
attachment sites) as well as HLA-B27 (an antigen which facilitates binding
of CD8+ T-cells to the antigen presenting cell).
Systemic lupus erythaematosus:
An autoimmune disease with inflammation occurring in various
organ systems including the joints
Inflammation caused by self antibodies
Crystal related arthropathies:
Two types:
o Gout - Urate crystals in the synovial fluid
o Pseudogout – calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystals in
the synovial fluid
IgG coats the urate crystals evoking inflammatory response.
Based on a lecture delivered by Dr M Sharif at the university of Bristol 2015
Inflammatory arthritis is a group of diseases that includes: Rheumatoid
arthritis, spondyloarthropathies, systemic lupus, erythaematosus and
crystal-related arthropies.
Spondyloarthropathy - A joint disease that involves the vertebral column
(Image sourced from www.webmd.com, original from Healthwise, incorporated)
Includes:
Ankylosing spondylitis – fusion of the vertebrae especially the
sacroiliac joints.
Reactive arthritis – an autoimmune condition that develops in
response to an infection in another part of the body.
Psoriatic arthritis – develops in up to 30% of the people who have
the skin condition
The diseases involve the synovium and entheses (ligament and tendon
attachment sites) as well as HLA-B27 (an antigen which facilitates binding
of CD8+ T-cells to the antigen presenting cell).
Systemic lupus erythaematosus:
An autoimmune disease with inflammation occurring in various
organ systems including the joints
Inflammation caused by self antibodies
Crystal related arthropathies:
Two types:
o Gout - Urate crystals in the synovial fluid
o Pseudogout – calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystals in
the synovial fluid
IgG coats the urate crystals evoking inflammatory response.
Based on a lecture delivered by Dr M Sharif at the university of Bristol 2015
