A study published by the Cleveland Clinic and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) provides the medical community for the first time with specific guidelines for treating juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), previously known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), a condition that affects approximately one in every 1,000 children.
This study is publishing in the October 4 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). JIA is characterized by the inflammation of joints. The onset of the condition typically occurs before the age of 16 and likely results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Although there is no cure for JIA, targeted treatment has been shown to improve symptoms significantly.
"It is important that parents and caregivers not assume that the symptoms of arthritis are simply growing pains," said Dr. Ronald Laxer, co-author of the study, vice president, Clinical and Academic Affairs and staff rheumatologist at SickKids and a professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto. "The most common form of juvenile idiopathic arthritis affects approximately one in a 1,000 Canadian children and if left untreated can result in significant developmental damage to the bones, joints and muscles."
The five most common types of JIA are oligoarthritis, which accounts for 50 per cent of cases and involves the swelling of less than five joints; polyarthritis, with swelling of more than five joints; systemic arthritis, characterized by high fevers and a rash with swelling of other organs in addition to joints; enthesitis-related arthritis, which may affect the spine and hips; and psoriatic arthritis, where children have psoriasis in addition to swollen joints.