الفهرس 
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Clinical aspectsOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory arthritis that affects nearly 1% of the world’s adults. It is characterized by symmetric polyarticular inflammation of the synovium, typically of the small joints of the hands (MCP and PIP), wrists and feet. This inflammation results in pain and stiffness, and can lead to progressive joint damage resulting in deformities and loss of function. Within the first three years, 70% of the patients develop radiological erosions of the joints and 31% deformities of the hands. Associated organ damage also contributes to severe disability and the chronic inflammation secondary to RA can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and changes in bone metabolism.(174 )The formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) is a result of the non-enzymatic reaction between sugars and free amino groups of proteins. AGEs, through interacting with their specific receptor for AGEs (RAGE), result in activation of pro-inflammatory states and are involved in numerous pathologic situations. The soluble form of RAGE (sRAGE) is able to act as a decoy to avoid interaction of RAGE with its pro-inflammatory ligands (AGEs, HMGB1, S100 proteins). sRAGE levels have been found to be decreased in chronic inflammatory diseases including atherosclerosis, diabetes, renal failure and the aging process.