Pathophysiology of joint pain
Article Abstract:
There seem to be three classes of nerve fibers found in knee joints including those sensitive to normal movement, to abnormal movement and those that are not sensitive to movement. Pain stimulation can activate all of these fibers. Substance P is a compound that travels along nerve fibers that are not surrounded by an electrically insulating sheath called myelin. Substance P helps to stimulate inflammation. The central nervous system may control the production of substance P as well as stimulating nerves in the tissues surrounding and distant to the affected area, causing pain in these areas as well. C fibers in the spinal cord, under stimulation by substance P, may in turn activate N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors that maintain pain stimulation in the affected and surrounding areas. Drugs that interrupt these central pathways may be effective in managing pain.
Publication Name: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0003-4967
Year: 1996
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Imaging the swollen joint in the young patient
Article Abstract:
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound may be useful in making a diagnosis of juvenile chronic, or juvenile rheumatoid, arthritis. Juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) is distinguished by the presence of thickening and fluid buildup in the synovium, or membrane, of a joint. The cases are presented of two children with pauciarticular JCA who were initially misdiagnosed, one with septic arthritis, the other with pigmented villonodular synovitis. Pauciarticular JCA is the most frequently diagnosed type of JCA, and involves four or fewer joints in the first six months of the disease. Pauciarticular JCA affects different areas of the body depending on the child's age. X-rays are commonly used to initially diagnose the joint and to rule out other conditions.
Publication Name: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0003-4967
Year: 1995
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Incidence and sources of native and prosthetic joint infection: a community based prospective survey
Article Abstract:
It appears that few cases of bacterial arthritis seen in an Amsterdam community between 1990 and 1993 could have been easily prevented. Researchers tabulated the distribution and causes of 188 infections from bacterial arthritis seen in this community during this time period. These infections represent an infection rate of 5.7 per 100,000 people. Most infections were blood-borne. However, many occurred during joint surgery. The most frequently affected populations included children and the elderly. Many adults had other joint diseases. Only 8% of the infections occurred in joints with joint replacements.
Publication Name: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0003-4967
Year: 1997
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Diagnosis of Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies by polymerase chain reaction: a multicenter study. Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy in Hispanic new Mexicans. (BRIEF REPORT)
- Abstracts: Drug allergy. Infection and allergy incidence in ambulatory surgery patients using white petrolatum vs bacitracin ointment: a randomized controlled trial
- Abstracts: A survey of practice nurses' views of health promotion. Community nurses' attitudes to health promotion in one regional health authority
- Abstracts: Biologic modifiers and chemoprevention of cancer of the oral cavity. part 2 The von Hippel-Lindau protein, vascular endothelial growth factor, and kidney cancer
- Abstracts: Familial occurrence of dystocia. Risk of HIV infection in oral contraceptive pill users: a meta-analysis. Familial aggregation of small-for-gestational-age births: The importance of fetal genetic effects