|
|
Home 
Medical Info
Disease Index
Rheumatoid Arthritis
History
Rheumatoid Arthritis
The History of Rheumatoid Arthritis
I've heard people blame RA on our
modern world. These folks would like us to believe that modern processed
foods, pollution and modern lifestyles are at fault. That is simply not
true; rheumatoid arthritis has been around for centuries. We can't blame
it on the modern world.
Although the earliest known appearance of RA was noted in skeletal
remains of Indians from 4500 BC found in what is now known as Tennessee,
we don't find documented evidence until much later.
The first written reference to arthritis sounds very similar to what we
now know as rheumatoid arthritis. In 123 AD a text from India called
Caraka Samhita describes a disease where swollen, painful joints
initially strike the hands and feet, then spread to the body, causing
loss of appetite, and occasionally fever.
In 1591 Guillaume de Baillou, the French physician and Dean of the
University of Paris medical faculty writes one of the first books on
arthritis. In this book he uses the term rheumatism to describe a
condition characterized by inflammation, soreness, stiffness in the
muscles, and pain in and around the joints. He writes, "The whole
body hurts, in some the face is flushed; pain is most severe around the
joints, so that the slightest movement of the foot, hand, or finger
causes a cry of pain...At night...the pain becomes more serious and the
patient cannot sleep." Could this be a combination of RA and
fibromyalgia?
In 1680 they begin treating rheumatism with a Peruvian bark, which
contains the anti-malarial agent, quinine. In modern times we treat it
with an anti-malarial, Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate, better known as
Plaquenil. Then in 1763, they had another weapon to fight rheumatism,
Willow bark. Willow bark contains salicylate, the active ingredient in
aspirin.
It wasn't until 1859 that the disease earned a proper name. Sir Alfred
Garrod, the London physician, coins the clinical term 'rheumatoid
arthritis' and the first reference is made in medical literature.
Now that the disease had a name, things really started to roll. In 1893
the surgeon W. A. Lane developed a system of carbon steel screws and
plates that made internal repair of bones and joints possible, and joint
replacement surgery began.
The Bayer Company took the Willow bark treatment on step further in
1897, manufacturing acetylsalicylic acid, better known as aspirin. It
quickly gains worldwide recognition in the treatment of pain and
rheumatic disorders, becoming the standard treatment. In 1929, another
new drug emerges; periodic injections of gold salts are first used to
relieve muscle pain.
1939 brought the first autoimmune theory into the picture. Sir McFarlane
Burnet, head of the Research Institute of Melbourne, Australia decides
that autoimmunity, the process by which the body's defense system
malfunctions and attacks its own tissues, causes many arthritis
conditions. This theory holds true today.
The development of x-rays in 1895, the surgical pin in 1907 and the ball
and cup artificial hip joint in 1931 lead to the formation of the
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in 1933. The first total hip
replacement is performed in 1938 by surgeons in England.
In 1941 RA becomes official, the American Rheumatism Association
officially recognizes rheumatoid arthritis as a distinct disorder and in
1946 the American Committee to Control Rheumatism is founded in
Philadelphia, officially announcing the modern American field of
rheumatology. The Arthritis Foundation came shortly after, established
in 1948.
1948 also brings us two important discoveries. Drs. Philip Hench and E.C.
Kendall discover the therapeutic anti-inflammatory effects of steroid
hormones. This milestone will win them the Nobel Prize. Almost equally
important, the antibody known as the rheumatoid factor is isolated in
the blood of people with rheumatoid arthritis. The Rose-Waaler
diagnostic test, that employs this factor, is devised.
The year 1955 begins the love-hate relationship many of us know so well.
Prednisone, a synthetic derivative of cortisone, is introduced and it
rapidly becomes the most widely used oral corticosteroid medication.
Over the next half of a century, many new treatments and surgeries fall
into to place; joint replacements are perfected, new drugs are
developed. And many of us are diagnosed with that same disease found in
Indians from 4500 BC. So the next time someone tells you that RA is
caused by the evils of the modern world, you'll know the truth.
References:
IntelliHealth Arthritis Timeline
Arthritis Today, January - February 2000, Though the Years, an Arthritis
Timeline
|
|
