by Jane Allyson

Created on: August 14, 2011   Last Updated: August 15, 2011

Childhood Rheumatoid Arthritis, or the more commonly known name of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, applies to a condition that causes pain and swelling in the joints. It is usually considered to be a disease of the elderly, but the fact is that this nasty condition can affect children as young as 6 months old.

Although doctors are still unsure about the exact causes of the disease, research has told them that the condition develops because of a malfunctioning immune system. Put very simply, blood cells do not have the ability to identify the difference between healthy and unhealthy cells and in response will cause the immune system to damage healthy cells, which causes the pain and swelling.

Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis is one of the common childhood diseases in the United States and is divided into three distinct types:

Polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) - or juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common and affects girls more than boys. It normally affects knees, wrists and ankles and other load bearing joints such as hips, neck, shoulders and jaw, and can affect both left and right joints simultaneously.

This is an extreme form of the condition and will usually be treated aggressively to bring the swelling down. Patients usually suffer to a great extent and symptoms can get worse over a length of time.

Pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) or juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) affects four or less joints, such as the knees, ankles or wrists and will attack one particular joint at a time. It causes inflammation of the eye (uveitis) typically affecting young girls with positive anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) so it is vital that sufferers have an eye examination every six months.

JRA can affect the way that bones in the legs grow. Sometimes they may develop at different rates, and the sufferer can be left with one leg shorter than the other. This can cause strain on the knee and exacerbate the problem of arthritis in the joint. Therapy to manage this problem can be successful if the symptoms are recognized at an early stage.

Systemic onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) or juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)  affects both boys and girls on an equal basis. It is typified by long instances of high fever of 103 and higher and causes a rash of pale, red spots on the child’s chest, thighs and occasionally over the rest of the body. It affects the small joints of the hands, wrists, knees and ankles.

Because it

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