Just some great information on Juvenile Arthritis and Uveitis

What is Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthitis and What Causes It?
It may begin with a swollen knuckle, a spiking fever, or an unexplainable rash. But no matter what symptoms appear, hearing the word "arthritis" in a diagnosis for your child can be unexpected and confusing.Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints that is characterized by swelling, heat, and pain. Nearly 300,000 children in the United States have some sort of arthritis. Arthritis can be short-term — lasting for just a few weeks or months, then going away forever — or it can be chronic and last for months or years. In rare cases, it can last a lifetime.The most prevalent form of juvenile arthritis is juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, or JRA. It affects approximately 50,000 children in the United States. JRA also called juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) because it is very different from adult rheumatoid arthritis.What Causes JRA?It's not known exactly what causes JRA in kids. Research indicates that it is an autoimmune disease. In autoimmune diseases, white blood cells lose the ability to tell the difference between the body's own healthy cells and harmful invaders like bacteria and viruses. The immune system, which is supposed to protect the body from these harmful invaders, instead releases chemicals that can damage healthy tissues and cause inflammation and pain.Typically, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis appears between the ages of 6 months and 16 years. The first signs often are joint pain or swelling and reddened or warm joints. Many rheumatologists (doctors specializing in joint disorders) find that the greater the number of joints affected, the more severe the disease and the less likely that the symptoms will eventually go into total remission.

What is Uveitis?
In the United States, one in every 1000 children develops JIA [formerly known as Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis or JRA]. Of all cases of uveitis, approximately 6 out of every 100 occur in children, with up to 80% of these associated with JIA, making this disease the most commonly identified cause of uveitis in children. JIA is three times more likely to affect girls than boys, but has no geographical or racial predilection. The uveitis associated with JIA typically causes inflammation of the anterior part of the eye, affecting the iris and the ciliary body (and therefore termed an iridocyclitis).Eye symptoms are non-specific and may include pain, light sensitivity and blurring of vision. Unfortunately, the disease does not cause obvious symptoms in about 50% of patients and symptoms only appear once the vision robbing complications such as cataract, band keratopathy, glaucoma, and hypotony have already occurred. There is no correlation between the severity of uveitis and that of the arthritis, thus a patient with mild arthritis may have a severe uveitis that produces no warning signs until late in the disease.The cause of uveitis in JIA is unknown. Some scientists believe that it might be caused by an attack mounted by the patient's own white blood cells against certain substances present in the patient's iris. However, it is not clearly understood whether the immune reaction is the cause or merely an effect of damage to the eye.The prevalence of blindness in children with JRA associated uveitis has decreased from 50% in 1950 to its current level of approximately 12%. Further reduction of this prevalence figure can be achieved by early referrals for newly diagnosed JIA patients, screening programs for early detection of uveitis and development of collaborative liaisons between ophthalmologists and rheumatologists to reduce ocular damage and blindness.-American Uveitis Society