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Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Autoimmune Disease

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Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that accounts for roughly 0.6% of the population in the United States. The disease typically affects the elderly, but also affects older teenagers, young adults and affects women three times more than men. Rheumatoid arthritis is when a person’s immune system to attack the synovial membranes of the joints and causes inflammation. The genetic link of rheumatoid arthritis is not completely clear. However, it has been shown that having a family member with rheumatoid arthritis will increase the risk of developing the disease. There are currently two genes being looked at that has shown to be involved in the development of rheumatoid arthritis, HLA-DRB1 and PTPN22. These were discovered by looking at

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