The pt. had various symptoms, explain how these factors are associated with RA and what is the difference between RA and OA 

The pt. had various symptoms, explain how these factors are associated with RA and what is the difference between RA and OA 

The patient had articular manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis such as polyarthralgia, morning stiffness, swelling of joints, ulnar deviation of her hands, and boggy proximal interphalangeal joints. According to Bullock et al. (2018),  rheumatoid arthritis mostly affects metacarpophalangeal joints and proximal interphalangeal joints but rarely distal interphalangeal joints. Additionally, rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic disorder and hence commonly presents with constitutional symptoms such as fatigue. Rheumatoid arthritis refers to a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder that principally affects the joints but also causes extraarticular features (Bullock et al., 2018). On the other, osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease that results from the biochemical breakdown of articular cartilage.  Osteoarthritis typically involves weight-bearing joints such as the hip, knee, and lower back while rheumatoid arthritis can affect any joint although common in hands, wrists, and feet. Similarly, osteoarthritis develops gradually over several years while rheumatoid arthritis develops acutely. 

Describe what is MS and how did it cause the above patient’s symptoms

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system distinguished by demyelination, inflammation, neuronal loss, and gliosis (Lane & Yadav, 2020). The exact etiology of multiple sclerosis is unknown although environmental, immune, and genetic factors are involved in its pathogenesis. In multiple sclerosis, there is focal inflammation that is injurious to the blood-brain barrier and causes macroscopic plaques (Lane & Yadav, 2020). Similarly, there is microscopic injury as a result of the degeneration of various CNS components such as neurons, axons, and synapses. The aforementioned processes explain the multifocal nature of injury in multiple sclerosis and the neurological symptoms observed in this patient such as blurring of vision, tremors, difficulty concentrating, memory impairment, weakness, and difficulty voiding (Lane & Yadav, 2020). Finally, the course of multiple sclerosis varies considerably and can be remitting, relapsing, or progressive.

References

Bullock, J., Rizvi, S. A. A., Saleh, A. M., Ahmed, S. S., Do, D. P., Ansari, R. A., & Ahmed, J. (2018). Rheumatoid arthritis: A brief overview of the treatment. Medical Principles and Practice: International Journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre, 27(6), 501–507. https://doi.org/10.1159/000493390

Cicerello, E. (2018). Uric acid nephrolithiasis: An update. Urologia, 85(3), 93–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/0391560318766823

Dehlin, M., Jacobsson, L., & Roddy, E. (2020). Global epidemiology of gout: prevalence, incidence, treatment patterns, and risk factors. Nature Reviews. Rheumatology, 16(7), 380–390. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-020-0441-1

Lane, M., & Yadav, V. (2020). Multiple Sclerosis. In Textbook of Natural Medicine (pp. 1587-1599.e3). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-43044-9.00199-0

Pouresmaeili, F., Kamalidehghan, B., Kamarehei, M., & Goh, Y. M. (2018). A comprehensive overview of osteoporosis and its risk factors. Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management, 14, 2029–2049. https://doi.org/10.2147/TCRM.S138000