Scleroderma and rheumatoid arthritis are both autoimmune diseases that attack connective tissues, causing pain, swelling, and immune responses. Scleroderma involves hardening of the skin and inflammation inside and outside the body, while rheumatoid arthritis involves inflammation and pain in joints and connective tissues. Both diseases are difficult to cure, but can be treated with medication and therapy to reduce inflammation and promote healing of connective tissues.
Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease that attacks the skin and tissue and is classified as a type of degenerative arthritis. The connection between scleroderma and rheumatoid arthritis is that they are both diseases that attack connective tissues and involve pain, swelling, and immune system responses. The autoimmune disease scleroderma includes hardening of the skin and various points of inflammation inside and outside the body. Rheumatoid arthritis, by comparison, also involves inflammation but includes pain in the joints and connective tissues rather than spreading to the skin.
When finding the relationship between scleroderma and rheumatoid arthritis, it is important to compare the differences of the diseases. Scleroderma is a less common form of arthritis, even less common than rheumatoid arthritis, and involves hardening of the skin and random swelling and scarring of the skin. Scleroderma also involves blood vessel disease due to chronic inflammation within blood vessels. There is no known cause of scleroderma, making it a difficult disease to treat, but it is usually treated in the same way as rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, encompasses pain and swelling of joints and connective tissues within the body. This autoimmune disease confuses the immune system, which then attacks healthy tissue. Inflammation occurs in the synovial membrane of the joints, forming a mass called pannus. As the most debilitating and painful form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis can cause fatigue and muscle wasting, as well as changes in the lungs and eyes.
The connections between scleroderma and rheumatoid arthritis include the connective tissues and the areas of the body they affect, as well as the ways in which the diseases are treated medically. Both scleroderma and rheumatoid arthritis involve changes in the skin and blood vessels and are always accompanied by inflammation in and on the body. There is currently no known cause for scleroderma or rheumatoid arthritis, making both difficult to cure, but their treatment is relatively the same. Both diseases are treated to reduce inflammation, as well as to promote healing of connective tissues as much as possible.
Scleroderma and rheumatoid arthritis can be treated with a combination of medications and therapies. Many times, rheumatoid arthritis is treated with antibiotics and a combination of exercise and anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce joint pain. Scleroderma can also be treated with these methods, but can also include medications to suppress an overly active immune system. This form of treatment, however, can also increase disease in various organs of the body, making it a controversial form of treatment.
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