Early treatment key to extending life

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS:THOSE SHOWING signs of rheumatoid arthritis should seek treatment immediately and not delay. Modern drugs can halt the disease, but early treatment can prolong life, according to a consultant dealing with the disease.

Those who develop rheumatoid arthritis die 10 years earlier on average than those without the disease, stated Dr Karin Raza of the University of Birmingham.

He was speaking yesterday at the British Science Festival underway in Birmingham.

“The earlier we treat rheumatoid arthritis the better the outcome. If you treat early and aggressively you can completely halt progress of the disease.”

Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the body’s own immune system begins to attack tissues in the joints, particularly in the hands and feet. It affects about one in 100 people and can cause significant disability with 20 to 25 per cent of people stopping work within several years of first diagnosis, Dr Raza said.

Patients with the disease tended to die 10 years earlier mainly due to heart disease brought on by the arthritis, he added.

Ideally a patient should receive treatment within three months of diagnosis, but the actual delay can stretch into years.

“The majority of the delay is on the part of the patient.”

People put it down to simple aches and pains or just a part of growing older but this delay allowed the disease to begin causing permanent damage. Treating the disease early delivered “a much better outcome long term” and this was an important message to get to the public, he said.

Current drug therapies worked very well and doctors were also using treatments that block the immune system substances that cause the damage. This in turn reduced the risk of early death through heart disease, he said.

Researchers were working on ways to give an early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and also to predict a patient’s best treatment options. Only 20 per cent of those with symptoms including swelling around the joints of the hands and feet and overall stiffness go on to develop rheumatoid arthritis, Dr Raza said. “We need to have a good way to predict when we first see the patient whether they will develop the disease.”