Dr. Ruderman shares the causes of arthritis.
Dr. Ruderman:
There are a myriad of causes of arthritis. Anything from infectious causes, bacteria, viruses. There are different viruses that can trigger arthritis, other types of infections. A large number of the things that we think of are autoimmune processes in which the immune system is triggering the inflammation that causes arthritis or that becomes arthritis.
Degeneration of the cartilage of the, of the components of the joint can eventually cause arthritis. Cartilage is the smooth tissue that a joint glides on when it moves normally and as the cartilage wears down over time that breakdown can actually lead to difficulty moving the joint and become arthritis with time.
About Dr. Ruderman, M.D.:
Dr. Eric M. Ruderman, M.D., is associate professor in the division of rheumatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. He is also a board member of the Arthritis Foundation of Greater Chicago.
Dr. Ruderman graduated from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York, New York. He completed his residence at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and his fellowship training in rheumatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.