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Type of Physician: Pediatric Rheumatologist

What is a Pediatric Rheumatologist?

A subspecialty certification by the Board of Pediatrics; practitioners treat the infant, child, or adolescent with rheumatic disease (causing painful disability in the muscles, tendons, bones, joints or nerves). He or she also participates in the prevention, understanding, and treatment of the various rheumatic disorders and also promotes understanding of the basic mechanisms of the disease in the interrelated areas of immunology, genetics, inflammation, and infectious diseases.

Specialty: Pediatric Rheumatology

Common Name:

Birmingham is the largest city in the state of Alabama in the United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County and includes part of Shelby County. Over the course of the 20th century, the city's economy diversified. Though the manufacturing industry maintains a strong presence in Birmingham, other industries such as banking, insurance, medicine, publishing, and biotechnology have risen in stature. Birmingham has been recognized as one of the top cities for income growth in the United States South with a significant increase in per capita income since 1990. Today, Birmingham ranks as one of the most important business centers in the Southeastern United States and is also one of the largest banking centers in the U.S. In addition, the Birmingham area serves as headquarters to one Fortune 500 company: Regions Financial. Five Fortune 1000 companies are headquartered in Birmingham.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham,_Alabama)

Juvenile Arthritis (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis)

Read the Juvenile Arthritis (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis) article »

Arthritis in childhood? Isn't that only an old person's disease?

Most laypeople and many doctors fail to appreciate that arthritis in children exists. For the children affected and their families, education about the condition is essential. Many children suffer for months or years before the diagnosis of arthritis is thought of and proper treatment begun. But the problem doesn't end there. Children with arthritis frequently experience difficulty because their teachers and schoolmates don't understand that children can develop arthritis. They have no idea what to expect from the child with arthritis or about the nature of the illness. As a result, when the child is finally diagnosed with arthritis, the family may be told just to put them in a wheelchair because "nothing can be done." This is entirely wrong!

How common is arthritis in children?

Arthritis affects approximately one child in every 1,000 in a given year. Fortunately, most of these cases are mild. However, approximately one child in every 10,000 will have more severe arthritis that doesn't just go away. Many children have what is called an acute inflammatory arthritis following a viral or bacterial infection. This arthritis is often quite severe for a brief period but usually disappears within a few weeks or months. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is the most common type of arthritis that persists for months or years at a time. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is also now called juvenile arthritis or juvenile arthritis of unknown cause (juvenile idiopathic arthritis).

What are the signs, symptoms, and treatment of the different forms of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis?

There are three main forms of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), which are classified by how they begin. These forms are pauciarticular (less than four joints affected), polyarticular (four or more joints affected), and syste...

Read the Juvenile Arthritis (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis) article »