Connective Tissue Disease

Question 1

What is inflammatory arthritis?

Answer 1

Autoimmune disease in which the body views its own tissue as foreign

Question 2

What is seropositive arthritis?

Answer 2

Your blood has antibodies that can attack your body and inflame your joints
An example is rheumatoid arthritis

Question 3

What is seronegative arthritis?

Answer 3

Your body doesn’t have the antibodies typically made when you have the condition
An example is psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis

Question 4

What is rheumatoid arthritis?

Answer 4

Chronic inflammatory condition that typically affects small and medium sized joints in a symmetric fashion

Question 5

What is the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis?

Answer 5

The primary lesion is synovitis whereby immune cells invade the normally relatively acellular synovium, leading to the formation of inflammatory ‘pannus’

Question 6

What tests are done to diagnose someone with rheumatoid arthritis?

Answer 6

Antibody test

• sensitivity measures the proportion of actual positives which are correctly identified as such
• specificity measures the proportion of negative which are correctly identified

Question 7

What does the rheumatoid factor do?

Answer 7

Autoantibodies which target the Fc-part of the human IgG- activates the complement in the joint, which leads to increased vascular permeability and the release of chemotactic factors recruiting immune-competent effect cells in the joint

Question 8

What is the treatment for RA?

Answer 8

Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide autoantibody
Citrullinated peptide
Methotrexate

Question 9

What is Sjögren’s syndrome?

Answer 9

A condition that affects parts of the body that produce fluid- tears and spit

Question 10

What are the symptoms of Sjögren’s syndrome?

Answer 10

Xerophthalmia

Xerostomia

Question 11

How is Sjögren’s syndrome diagnosed?

Answer 11

Schirmer test is performed by placing a test strip in each eye between the medial and lateral parts of the lower eyelid

Question 12

What are some problems associated with Sjögren’s syndrome?

Answer 12

Tongue sticking to the roof of the mouth 
Frequent caries 
Higher risk of periodontal disease
Loss of tongue papilla 
Altered sense of asteroid 
Inability to eat dry foods
Difficulty wearing dentures
Development of oral candidiasis 
Angular cheilitis 
Parotitis 
Petechial lesions 
Erythema

Question 13

What are some complications of Sjögren’s syndrome?

Answer 13

Emergence of other disorders associated with Sjögren’s syndrome e.g. RA or SLE
Infection of the parotid gland
Tumours of the parotid gland

Question 14

What is the treatment of Sjögren’s syndrome?

Answer 14

Hydroxychloroquine

Question 15

What is systemic lupus erythematosis?

Answer 15

An autoimmune disorder characterised by multi system microvascular inflammation with the generation of autoantibodies

Question 16

What causes SLE?

Answer 16

Unknown 
Genetic 
Racial 
Hormonal 
Environmental factors

Question 17

What is the treatment for SLE?

Answer 17

Anti-malarials
Immunosuppressants
Bisphosphonates
Steroids

Question 18

What is scleroderma?

Answer 18

A chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterised by fibrosis, vascular alterations and autoantibodies

Question 19

What are the two main forms of scleroderma?

Answer 19

Limited systemic scleroderma- CREST syndrome- Calcinosis, Raynaud’s phenomenon, Esophageal dysfunction, Sclerodactyly and Telangiectasias
Diffuse systemic scleroderma- rapidly progressing and affects a large area of the skin and one or more internal organs

Question 20

What is the treatment of scleroderma?

Answer 20

NSAIDs

Corticosteroids