Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Rheumatoid Arthritis: Fast Facts

• Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the most common chronic autoimmune diseases, in which the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues. Like other autoimmune diseases, it disproportionately affects women.
• The hallmark feature of rheumatoid arthritis is inflammation of the joints, especially small joints, but it may also affect other tissues and organs. It is different from the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis, which typically occurs as a result of trauma or advancing age.
• Current therapy for rheumatoid arthritis focuses on reducing the inflammatory response and treating the uncontrolled inflammation. Although a number of different therapies are effective, some patients experience disease progression that is resistant to all known therapies. Currently there is no therapy known to prevent rheumatoid arthritis.

Learn more about autoimmune diseases at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

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Rheumatoid Arthritis: Some of our Key Research

Unraveling why pregnancy improves rheumatoid arthritis
It's common knowledge among scientists that women with rheumatoid arthritis often experience temporary relief from their disease while they're pregnant. Research in Dr. J. Lee Nelson's lab seeks to shed some light on the reasons for this important, yet mysterious, phenomenon.

Nelson and colleagues focus their work on a natural phenomenon called microchimerism, in which certain cells move from mother to fetus, and vice versa, during pregnancy. Nelson's lab has found that genetic differences between the fetus and the mother correlated with arthritis improvement during pregnancy. More recently, Nelson and colleagues directly demonstrated that higher levels of fetal microchimerism correlate with the interruption of arthritis during pregnancy.

Future studies in this area could pave the way for new therapies and prevention methods for people with rheumatoid arthritis. Some cells exchanged during pregnancy can persist decades later, and women who harbor fetal microchimerism that has arthritis-protective genes may have reduced susceptibility to developing rheumatoid arthritis. Learn more. »

Understanding the causes of rheumatoid arthritis
Our researchers have found that abnormal regulation of two cancer- and infection-fighting proteins may play a key role in destruction of the body's joints, a hallmark of rheumatoid arthritis. Dr. Veronika Groh and colleagues discovered that deregulation of this protein pair, known as NKG2D and MIC, may fuel a class of self-destructive immune-system cells that attack the body's cartilage and bone.

The findings help to explain why commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory medications provide incomplete relief for rheumatoid arthritis and could lead to improved treatment strategies. Learn more. »

Linking occupations and autoimmune-disease deaths
Historically, several types of occupations have been linked to systemic autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, which affect multiple organs. Research by Dr. Anneclaire De Roos and colleagues has shown that some jobs involving exposure to the public, such as nurses and teachers, were associated with an increased risk of dying from a systemic autoimmune disease. The researchers suggested that this higher risk may be due to exposure to multiple infectious agents, leading to an autoimmune response.

Farmers—particularly those who worked with crops—and several industrial occupations, including mining and textile machine operators, timber cutters and loggers, also showed an elevated risk of death from systemic autoimmune disease. Learn more. »

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Rheumatoid Arthritis: More Resources

• The Hutchinson Center conducts ongoing studies that depend on participation of healthy volunteers. Learn more about getting involved in research studies. » 

• The Hutchinson Center is on a mission to eliminate cancer and related diseases as causes of human suffering and death, and you can help. Make a gift today. »

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