Islamic Fasting and Presentations of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology, characterized by symmetric peripheral polyarthritis. The disease is characterized by increased immune and inflammatory responses due to a complex interaction between genes and environment, which leads to accumulation of immune cells in the synovial tissue, causing matrix destruction and damage to bone and cartilage (1). Both B and T cells as well as monocytes can be seen with increasing tendency with the disease progression. The pathogenesis of RA is built upon the concept that self-reactive antibodies and T cells drive the chronic inflammatory response. T cells are activated and thus they proliferate and release cytokines. B Cells produce rheumatoid factor immunoglobulin M (IgM) and other antibodies. Monocytes produce pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 1 (IL-1), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), which induce proliferation and activation of the synovium tissue

Islamic Fasting