Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) (aka Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis JRA) is the most common form of arthritis in children and adolescents. (Juvenile in this context refers to an onset before age 16, idiopathic refers to a condition with no defined cause, and arthritis is the inflammation of the synovium of a joint.)
JIA is a subset of arthritis seen in childhood, which may be transient and self-limited or chronic. It differs significantly from arthritis commonly seen in adults (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis), and other types of arthritis that can present in childhood which are chronic conditions (e.g. psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis). It is an autoimmune disorder. The disease commonly occurs in children from the ages of 7 to 12, but it may occur in adolescents as old as 15 years of age.
Read more about Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Terminology, Signs and Symptoms, Causes, Classification, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prognosis
Famous quotes containing the word juvenile:
“I never found even in my juvenile hours that it was necessary to go a thousand miles in search of themes for moralizing.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)