Broadly speaking, there are several types of autoimmune arthritis, but most doctors generally divide them into "seropositive" and "seronegative" arthritis. What is so important about the "sero" to be positive or negative? It reflects the presence of specific antibodies in the patient's blood, thus altering the diagnosis and management of the patient.
There are generally two types of people who get arthritis. When young adults are diagnosed with arthritis, it is usually the autoimmune disease linked to their genes. The diagnosis of autoimmune related arthritis requires a specific set of physical symptoms and lab investigations. When older people get arthritis, it is usually due to their aging 'wear and tear'. The diagnosis of osteoarthritis by a doctor is done after obtaining an x-ray of the affected joint.
Arthritis requires two major management strategies. Pain management and disease intervention. Pain management requires pharmacotherapy, or the use of drugs (analgesia) to reduce pain. The arthritic pain will also benefit from mobilization of joints, also known as physiotherapy. Disease intervention is required for autoimmune arthritis, whether it is seropositive or seronegative, and the most popular form of therapy is DMARDS (disease modifying anti rheumatic drugs).
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