Why is ankylosing spondylitis an independent disease?
Although evidence of spondylitis has been found in ancient Egyptian mummy bones before BC, it was not until 1893 that the disease was described in detail. For more than half a century, ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis have been regarded as two types of diseases. Ankylosing spondylitis is regarded as the "central type" of rheumatoid arthritis, while rheumatoid arthritis is called "peripheral type". Since the 1950s, people have realized that ankylosing spondylitis has its special manifestations, which changed the concept of ankylosing spondylitis. Since the 1960s, it has been separated from rheumatoid arthritis and become an independent rheumatism, named ankylosing spondylitis.
So, what's the difference between ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis? Please see below:
(1) Ankylosing spondylitis varies from race to race, while rheumatoid arthritis is distributed all over the world.
(2) Ankylosing spondylitis has an obvious family history, but rheumatoid arthritis is not significant.
(3) Ankylosing spondylitis mostly occurs at 10-20 years old, with the peak at 20-30 years old, while rheumatoid arthritis can be seen in all age groups, with the peak at 30-50 years old.
(4) Ankylosing spondylitis is more common in men, while women with rheumatoid arthritis are far more than men.
(5) Ankylosing spondylitis often has mild and asymmetrical arthritis, and the joints of lower limbs are invaded more than those of upper limbs; Big joints are more complicated than small joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is often polyarthritis, and the affected joints are symmetrical, and both large and small joints can be involved. Invasion of upper limb joints such as proximal interphalangeal joints, metacarpophalangeal joints and wrist joints is more common than lower limb joints. Ankylosing spondylitis affects arthroscopic joints most, accounting for 30%, and adult rheumatoid arthritis is rare. Ankylosing spondylitis rarely invades temporomandibular joint. More than half of rheumatoid arthritis has been invaded.
(6) Almost all ankylosing spondylitis has sacroiliitis, and rheumatoid arthritis is rare.
(7) Ankylosing spondylitis can involve the whole spine, and the second kind develops from lumbar vertebrae, while rheumatoid arthritis generally only involves cervical vertebrae.
(8) Ankylosing spondylitis has no rheumatoid nodules, but rheumatoid arthritis can be seen.
(9) Ankylosing spondylitis can cause aortic valve insufficiency, while rheumatoid arthritis generally does not cause clinically detectable heart valve diseases.
(10) Only a few cases of ankylosing spondylitis cause pulmonary fibrosis, while the pulmonary manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis are nodules, pleural effusion and pulmonary fibrosis.
(1 1) The rheumatoid factor of ankylosing spondylitis is negative, while rheumatoid arthritis is mostly positive.
(12) Ankylosing spondylitis is mostly HLA-B27 (human leukocyte antigen B27), rheumatoid arthritis is mostly HLA-DR4 (human leukocyte antigen DR4), and HLA-B27 is no different from normal people.
(13) The pathological manifestations of ankylosing spondylitis are mainly pathological changes at the attachment points of tendons and ligaments, such as calcification and ossification of the fibrous ring of the spine, osteophyte formation at the attachment points of the anterior longitudinal ligament of the spine, while rheumatoid arthritis is mainly inflammatory synovitis.
(14) The treatment of two diseases has different responses to drugs.