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Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) : Causes

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Causes List

Causes could include:
  • No known cause

Causes Overview Articles

Rheumatoid arthritis
The cause of RA is unknown. It is considered an autoimmune disease. The body's immune system normally fights off foreign substances, like viruses. But in an autoimmune disease, the immune system confuses healthy tissue for foreign substances. As a...
Source:ADAM
Date:February 22, 2009
Rheumatoid Arthritis
The underlying event that promotes RA in a person is unknown. Given the known genetic factors involved in RA, some researchers have suggested that an outside event occurs that triggers the disease cycle in a person with a particular genetic makeup...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a genetically complex disease. Studies in monozygotic (identical) and dizygotic (fraternal) twins indicate that genetic factors are involved in acquiring the susceptibility or tendency to RA rather than the disease itself. ...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders Part II
Rheumatoid Arthritis
There are no tests available that can absolutely diagnose RA. Instead, a number of tests exist that can suggest the diagnosis of RA. Blood tests include a special test of red blood cells, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, which is positive in ne...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
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