Juvenile Arthritis Research Paper

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Juvenile arthritis is an autoimmune disease. That means the immune system, which normally protects the body from foreign substances, attacks the body instead. The disease is also idiopathic, which means that no exact cause is known. Researchers believe juvenile arthritis may be related to genetics, certain infections, and environmental triggers.
There are five types of juvenile arthritis:
• Systemic arthritis: It usually causes high fever and a rash. Boys and girls are equally affected.
• Oligoarthritis: It affects fewer than five joints in the first six months that the child has the disease.
• Polyarthritis: It involves five or more joints in the first six months of the disease often the same joints on each side of the body.
• Psoriatic …show more content…

Because there is no actual test for juvenile arthritis, the diagnosis is made by excluding other conditions that may cause similar symptoms, such as bone disorders or breaks, fibromyalgia, infection, Lyme disease, lupus, or cancer.
The doctor is likely to begin by taking a complete medical history and performing a complete medical exam. Additional testing might be useful in determining what type of arthritis the child has. Some of the other tests that might be ordered include:
• Complete blood count (white cells, red cells, and platelets)
• Lab tests on blood or urine
• X-rays (to rule out breaks or damage to bones)
• Imaging tests, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans
• Blood culture to check for bacteria, which could indicate an infection in the bloodstream
• Tests for viruses
• Tests for Lyme

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