New vitamin-sized device giving hope to rheumatoid arthritis patients
According to the National Library of Medicine, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects about 1.3 million adults in the U.S. — some put the number closer to 1.5 million.
RA is an autoimmune, chronic, progressive inflammatory disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy joint tissue. It causes severe inflammation and can lead to swelling, joint stiffness and numbness.
Traditional treatment plans include medications and transfusions to help suppress the overactive immune system, but rheumatologist Dr. Gita Fatemi said the medications come with higher risk for infections and even cancer since they suppress the overactive immune response.