In an autoimmune disorder, antibodies or cells produced by the body attack the body’s own tissues. Many autoimmune disorders affect connective tissue and a variety of organs. Connective tissue is the structural tissue that gives strength to joints, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels.
Systemic rheumatic diseases include a diverse group of autoimmune conditions such as
Inflammatory arthritis (such as rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis)
Vasculitis (such as granulomatosis with polyangiitis and microscopic polyangiitis)
People with systemic rheumatic diseases may also have another kind of autoimmune disorder, such as Hashimoto thyroiditis (an autoimmune thyroid disorder that can lead to underactivity of the thyroid gland).
Symptoms of Systemic Rheumatic Diseases
In autoimmune disorders, inflammation and the immune response may result in tissue damage, not only in and around joints but also in other tissues, including vital organs, such as the kidneys and organs in the gastrointestinal tract. The sac that surrounds the heart (pericardium), the membrane that covers the lungs (pleura), and even the brain can be affected. The type and severity of symptoms depend on which organs are affected.
Most systemic rheumatic diseases increase a person's risk of developing cholesterol deposits (plaques) in arteries, resulting in hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), but this risk may be reduced by effective treatments.
Diagnosis of Systemic Rheumatic Diseases
A doctor's evaluation
Laboratory tests
Sometimes established criteria
A systemic rheumatic disease is diagnosed on the basis of its particular symptom pattern, the findings during a physical examination, and the results of laboratory tests (such as blood tests and biopsies). For some of these diseases, doctors can also use an established set of criteria to help make the diagnosis.
Sometimes the symptoms of one disease overlaps with those of another so much that doctors cannot make a distinction. In this case, the disease may be called undifferentiated connective tissue disease or an overlap disease.
Treatment of Systemic Rheumatic Diseases
Corticosteroids and/or other medications that suppress the immune system
Many systemic rheumatic diseases are treated with medications that suppress the immune system (such as corticosteroids and/or another immunosuppressant).
People whose immune system is suppressed by corticosteroids and other medications are sometimes given medications to prevent infections such as by the fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii (see prevention of pneumonia in people with a weakened immune system). It is also important for them to get recommended vaccinations, such as the influenza vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, and COVID-19 vaccine.
In people who have an overlap disease, doctors treat symptoms and organ dysfunction as they develop.
Although many people who have a systemic rheumatic disease have tried changing their diet to reduce the inflammation caused by these disorders, there is still inconsistent evidence that an "anti-inflammatory" diet can alter the course of these diseases.
