Juvenile Arthritis
Juvenile arthritis is a type of arthritis typically affects children before the age of sixteen. Most children with juvenile arthritis have a form of rheumatoid arthritis, the symptoms of which are identical to the adult kind. In many cases the condition is outgrown at a later age. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis can occur as early as six weeks of age and occurs in girls more commonly than boys. There are three primary types of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: Polyarticular, pauciarticular, and systemic.
- Polyarticular involves more than five joints and may be associated with a low grade fever.
- Pauciarticular, as the name implies, involves fewer joints (fewer than 4).
- Systemic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis can affect the entire body.
High fevers may occur and tend to rise during the day and fall at night. Disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDS) may be able to slow the progression the disease. Newer medications such as anti-TNF alpha and anti-IL 1 drugs may also prove to be of significant help for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
