Rheumatoid arthritis  

Rheumatoid arthritis involves episodes of worsening pain, called flair-ups, on a background of usually manageable discomfort.
It is an autoimmune disease, that is, the patient's own immune system make antibodies that attack synovial membranes.

Without treatment, rheumatoid arthritis progresses to new joints and causes the deformation and progressive destruction of the affected joints.

 

In the United States, rheumatoid arthritis is the third most costly disease, surpassed only by cancer and diabetes ⁽¹⁾.

⁽¹⁾www.cdc.gov/arthritis/