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Rheumatoid arthritis affects joints and is the most common inflammatory arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) - Affects joints and is
the most common inflammatory arthritis
What is RA?
Joints become warm, swollen, painful and stiff. Usually
worse early morning after waking and also following prolonged activity. RA can
cause weakness, fatigue, loss of appetite, muscle pain, and weight loss.
Usually affects hands, but can affect most joints.
Eventually affecting multiple joints: small joints in wrists, fingers
(usually middle joints and where fingers attach to hand), feet and cervical
spine, but also larger shoulder and knee joints;
RA can also occur systemically. E.g manifesting
as spleen enlargement, blood vessel inflammation (vasculitis), heart / lung
inflammation, muscle wasting, skin nodules, low white blood cell count.
Tends to affect the same joints on both left and right sides of
body (i.e. symmetrically)
Affects 1 out of 100 people worldwide. Women 3x more
than men, typical onset 40-60 years of age (although not a normal part of aging).
At least 50% Increased risk of RA with repetitive movement.
According to research involving self-reporting of 3680 RA patients
and 5935 controls; this was especially evident in the construction industry
with manual work above the shoulder level or below the knee level.
Pingling Zeng et al
RA is an autoimmune disease. i.e. the body loses
the ability to discriminate self proteins from non-self proteins, which ultimately
results in the destruction of self tissues by the immune system. The synovial membrane
(synovium) is a layer of cells that lines the joints and produces
synovial fluid, a clear fluid that nourishes
and lubricates the bone and cartilage in the joint. Cartilage is an elastic
connective tissue covering the ends of bones to cushion and protect the bone from
getting damaged during movement.
RA begins when infection-fighting white blood cells (WBCs) of the immune system
(IS) accumulate in the synovial tissue, most likely in response to dietary or pathogenic
antigens that have been deposited there (probably having "escaped" from a damaged/
"leaky" gut). Your body can confuse these "invaders" with your own tissue (in a
process called molecular mimicry), and cause damage to your body tissue. Proinflammatory
cytokines produced by the WBCs and IS acute phase proteins can cause inflammation
(such proteins include interferons (IFNs), interleukins (ILs) IL-1, IL-6, tumor
necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and
C-reactive protein (CRP)), and other immune cells attending the "party" can
cause over-production of synovial fluid. Inflammation can spread to the entire joint
and destroy cartilage.
Synovial Fluid Lubricates and Nourishes
Joint.
Synovial fluid is a clear lubricating fluid reducing friction between opposing cartilage
surfaces. The synovial membrane ( classified as connective
tissue, not epithelium) seals the cavity of a synovial joint and secretes synovial fluid, into this tough joint capsule.
Synovial fluid is a thick, stringy fluid composed of:
Hyaluronic acid (HA or hyaluronan). A polymer
of disaccharides;
Lubricin. Glycoprotein (~equal proportion
to GAGs);
Proteinases and collagenases. Enzymes
that break down proteins and collagen resp.
RA can be diagnosed with C-reactive protein (CRP)
is a marker for tissue damage / inflammation. CRP is a blood
protein mainly produced in the liver, which increases dramatically during the acute
phase inflammatory response. Even CRP>1mg/dL is high, but most inflammation results
in CRP >10.
Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms
Joint stiffness, swelling and pain. Often worse in
the mporning or after inactivity
Fatigue / weight loss
Can affect other body areas E.g. skin, eyes, lings
In Feet / Ankles - symptoms in the feet /ankles are usually
in both feet / ankles simultaneously. RA can also trigger the growth of nodules
(hard, round bumps under the skin) on the balls of the feet, toes or instep. Symptoms mainly occur in:
The ball of the foot - where the long
metatarsal bones in the foot meet the base of the toes
Between the bones of the toes - i.e.
the toe knuckles
Back of the foot and ankle
Rheumatoid arthritis causes
Inflammation and autoimmune activity
In RA, several cytokines(chemical messengers that regulate inflammation) are involved in
almost all aspects of joint inflammation and destruction - e.g. interleukin
(IL)-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-γ
(IFN-γ) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSFG), . In
particular, TNF-α and IL-6 are considered to be pivotal cytokines in the development
of RA.
What is initiating this uncontrolled inflammation?
Bacteria or virus.
Research suggests a connection to periodontal disease
and smoking
Repetitive over-use of a joint;
A so-called "leaky gut"
(Gut Permeability).
It is an almost universal clinical observation that
inflammation of the gut is frequently associated with inflammation of the joints
and vice versa, but the nature of this relationship remains elusive. Factors
involved are:
Poor gut microbiome A healthy gut needs
a diverse population of good bacteria; lectin-tolerance is very much tied into
microbiome health; Use of NSAIDs or other drugs will harm the microbiome;
Dietarylectins.
A study of 800 people with autoimmune
conditions, most with elevated TNF-α, went on diets that cut out high-lectin-content
foods for 6 months, after which those that complied with the diet had normal TNF-α
levels. Their diet avoided grains, sprouted grains,
pseudo-grains, legumes, soy, peanuts, cashews, nightshade plants, melons, squashes,
cow's milk products (from cows producing
casein A1 milk), and grain- and/or bean-fed animal meat.Gundry &Steven, 2014. Dietary substances, especially lectins, directly
or indirectly (by increasing pathogenic bacteria populations, especially with unhealthy
gut flora) inflame /damage villi lining the gut, allowing both lectins and pathogenic
bacteria to enter the bloodstream. In circulation, the immune system (IS) recognizes
them as antigens (foreign substances to be marked for destruction by antibodies).
Evidence suggests that dietary lectins interact with IS white blood cells to facilitate
the movement of both dietary and gut-derived pathogenic antigens into peripheral
tissues. Immune system complexes formed by antigen and antibodies trigger the IS
to release compounds to destroy them, and if deposited in joints of genetically
susceptible individuals, will also damage the surrounding joint tissue. These pathogenic
antigens may even interact directly with synovial tissues. Cordain
et al, 2000
Stress. Researchers found a strong connection between stress and the risk of
developing RA. A meta-analysis of 16 small studies published in
Arthritis Research & Therapy found that stress tends to make RA symptoms worse,
that childhood trauma increases risk of rheumatic diseases (a
2009 study
found that people who reported two or more traumatic childhood events - including
physical, emotional, or sexual abuse -- had twice the risk of rheumatic disease
compared with those who reported no childhood trauma), and that those with PTSD
have a higher risk of developing RA and other autoimmune disease.
Hassett & Clauss, 2010. Another
study found that stressful events often precede onset of RA.
Increased collagenase activity. Collagenase is an enzyme that breaks down collagen. This
would further cartilage damage in a joint
Prolamin includes gliadin
(the actual culprit in gluten) found in such as wheat, barley, and
rye. Other prolamins are zein
in corn, hordein in rye, seculin in barley, and avenin
in oats (in small amounts, provided they have not been cross-contaminated with other
high lectin grains). In the Western diet, Prolamins and agglutinin are primarily
eaten in IMPROPERLY PREPARED:
Collagen is the main component of the cartilage providing cushioning
between your bones - the collagen molecule comprises 3 tightly wound chains
of 3 repeating amino acids - glycine, lysine and proline.
Collagen production requires that you ensure 4 MAIN ingredients in your
diet - which may be lacking:
Proline - key component of collagen; body synthesizes small
amounts of this non-essential amino acid, but it may not be enough to balance
collagen destruction by enzymes.
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) - Hydroxyproline results
from oxygen reacting with proline, a reaction dependent on vitamin C.
Copper (2-4 mg/day) - a component
of the enzyme lysyl oxidase required for synthesis of collagen and elastin.
Also an integral part of SOD, the major endogenous
antioxidant enzyme. Excellent sources: calf's liver, crimini mushrooms, turnip
greens, molasses; Very good sources: chard, spinach, sesame seeds, mustard greens,
kale, summer squash, asparagus, eggplant, cashews.
Lysine (essential amino-acid) - sufficient lysine blocks
the anchor sites in connective tissue for enzymes which would otherwise digest
collagen
Zincdeficiency reduces
collagen in the body, which is common in high-phytate diets. You can begin with higher doses (50mg) for just a few days to
take care of a deficiency, but only ~10 mg / day is sufficient as a maintenance
dose - easily obtained in ~1/4 Cup of raw pumpkin seeds. Too high a dose
depletes magnesium and copper.
GAGs
Tthe "gel-like", water-absorbing, filler substance between collagen.
If you think of a net cast in the sea, the net (collagen) will collapse
without the sea (GAGs).
Chondroitin - the most prevalent GAG in connective tissue.
Chondroitin works as a therapy if directly injected into the affected joint
(There is much controversy as to whether a high molecular mass supplement, such
as the commonly used Chondroitin Sulfate, can be absorbed by the intestines. Some
saying that its supporting studies are really paid ads in medical journals).
Benefits af chondroiting include:
Attracts water to cartilage, improving its ability to absorb shocks and
impacts from movement.
Inhibits enzymes in synovial fluid that cause cartilage destruction;
Stimulates production of chemicals which improve synovial fluid viscosity
Glucosamine (500mg/day). Promotes GAG production
and is a component of hyaluronic acid.
Comfrey - Author's #1 TREATMENT
for Building Collagen
This herb has been used for centuries to very successfully
build collagen in the body.
Apply to affected joint as a comfrey leaf mash
(you can minimally chop leaves at low speed using food
processor), oil or tea-soaked compress. Add
1/2 tsp.
DMSO to aid penetration (but FIRST read the rules about how
to use DMSO). If you don't use DMSO, a comfrey oil or compress can
include comfrey root, which is more potent than the leaf, but which
the FDA has declared unsafe for internal use.
Drink a comfrey leaf tea once or twice / day
(no more than 2)
Other treatments for RA
Antioxidantvitamins -
to control further free radical damage. Tart cherry juice is
rich in
polyphenols.
Quit
smoking - which boosts risk of RA and may speed up disease or
cause more joint damage.
Take care of gums - there is an association between RA and periodontal
disease.
Transdermal cayenne pepper cream / lotion / oil
or 0.025 - 0.075% capsaicin gel or cream.
Cayenne's active ingredient capsaicin relieves pain by numbing
sensory nerves (gradually reduces substance P, a chemical necessary for nerves
to send pain signals to the brain), and also increases circulation to aid healing
of joints and/or muscles.
Apply up to 4 times daily to affected area.
Treatment can take 3 to 7 days to relieve pain and inflammation.
DIY cayenne pepper recipe: Mix half a
teaspoon cayenne pepper into 1 cup carrier oil (E.g. olive oil or comfrey oil) or
lotion (containing natural ingredients).
MSM (1 to 6 1000 mg capsules / day). Contains sulfur,
which protects from damage to collagen by cross-linking, and provides flexibility
and permeability to cell membranes.
References
Hassett, A. L., & Clauw, D. J. (2010). The role of stress i n rheumatic
diseases. Arthritis research & therapy, 12(3), 123. doi:10.1186/ar3024
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