Acute and chronic rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis can be both acute and chronic. While ultimately it is a chronic disorder, its onset can occur suddenly, leading your doctor to believe that you have an infection in an affected joint. When a disorder flares up suddenly, rather than slowly progressing, its incidence is considered to be [...]

Rheumatoid arthritis is the inflammatory form of arthritis. It is a chronic disease affecting connective tissue, mainly of joints, and can be very painful. It is thought to be an autoimmune disease, where the immune system attacks its own body, instead of defending it. The disease affects about one person in 20 in Britain at [...]