While it is difficult to cope with pain in your neck, small and large and joints of your legs and arms, you may be glad to know there is a ray of hope if you have a less severe case of rheumatoid arthritis.

While rheumatoid arthritis is the most common type of inflammatory arthritis, you may be surprised to learn there are several different types of rheumatoid arthritis including a milder seronegative rheumatoid arthritis. Only your physician can tell you whether you are one of the 20 percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients who have this less severe version of the condition called seronegative rheumatoid arthritis.

By testing the �rheumatoid factor,� your physician is able to confirm your diagnosis of seronegative rheumatoid arthritis. He or she will measure the presence and the level of an antibody called rheumatoid factor in your blood. The protein or rheumatoid factor is produced as a result of the body attacking its own immune system.

Most people with rheumatoid arthritis test positive for the rheumatoid factor, which means they have seropositive rheumatoid arthritis as opposed to seronegative rheumatoid arthritis.

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If you are in the minority of people who have been diagnosed with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis -- and are therefore rheumatoid factor negative -- you will love hearing the good news. As a seronegative rheumatoid arthritis patient, you have a better chance of survival and a better overall prognosis than the 80 percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients who test positive for rheumatoid factor.

Remember even if you are diagnosed with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis, you aren�t entirely off the hook. People with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis can still acquire joint damage if they don�t receive proper medical care.

Your physician will assure you the treatment is similar for both seropositive rheumatoid arthritis and seronegative rheumatoid arthritis. Don�t be surprised if your physician does not come to an absolute conclusion about your seronegative rheumatoid condition from the initial consultation. Diagnosing you with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis will take careful observation and testing because the rheumatoid factor status can fluctuate in some people.
 

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Moreover, the absence or presence of the rheumatoid factor is merely an indication of what type of disease you have, rather than an absolute indication as to whether or not you have seronegative rheumatoid arthritis.

In fact, researchers have discovered the rheumatoid factors can also occur in individuals in fair to good health. Therefore, experts say a positive rheumatoid factor on its own is not evidence of rheumatoid arthritis.

For instance, people with syphilis, leprosy, tuberculosis and other chronic infections may show positive rheumatoid factors. Rheumatoid factors also can be positive in chronic inflammatory diseases such as chronic liver diseases, sarcoidosis and pulmonary fibrosis.

If you have the milder seronegative rheumatoid arthritis, your physician will observe fewer manifestations of the disease.

Since there are several different types of rheumatoid arthritis, your doctor will support a clinical diagnosis of seronegative rheumatoid arthritis with x-rays, laboratory tests, examination and verification of symptoms.

In conclusion, the different types of rheumatoid arthritis manifest a variety of symptoms. These symptoms as well as the absence or presence of the protein autoantibody or rheumatoid factor in the bloodstream will determine your precise diagnosis. If your physician diagnoses you with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis, it should be a source of relief and hope.

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