Bechterew's disease in women: what is it, what are the symptoms

Bechterew's disease is a chronic disease of the spine and joints, leading to a fusion of intervertebral spaces, as a result of which the spine completely loses mobility in all directions, becoming like a "bamboo shoot". Most often this disease affects men, Bechterew's disease in women occurs less often, in about 15% of cases (data on the ratio of 9: 1 are obsolete). The reason for this situation is that the disease in women is atypical and is later diagnosed.

What is Bechterew's disease?

This disease of the spine, joints and some internal organs, which develops slowly, gradually. It almost always (but not in 100% of cases) occurs in people who have only one altered antigen in the immunity system - HLA B27. The presence of just such an antigen leads to the fact that:

- the tissue of the joints becomes more sensitive to infection;

- Some microbes, when reacting with HLA B27, trigger a so-called autoimmune reaction when the body recognizes the tissue of its own joints as an alien protein and begins to attack it.

As a result, joints develop inflammation with destruction of articular cartilage. First of all, the connection of the sacrum with the pelvis suffers, then the damping layers between the vertebrae collapse.

The body tries to compensate for the deformation of articular surfaces, but, unfortunately, articular cartilage and intervertebral discs are not restored. As a result, bone tissue proliferates , and the ligamentous apparatus also ossifies.

In addition to the joints, eyes suffer (inflammation develops in them), kidneys, lungs and large vessels.

Features of leaking in women

1. Bechterew's disease in women proceeds according to the so-called rhizomyelic variant. This means that the spine and joints suffer, such as the shoulder and hip joints.

2. Bechterew's disease in women develops longer, with periods of exacerbations and remissions. Characteristic signs on the roentgenogram can be found after only 10-15 years from the onset of the disease.

3. Another feature is that the female ossifies not the entire vertebral column, but mainly only its lumbosacral department. Women's Ankylosing spondylitis is not so immobilized, as a result of which, even in the very last stages of the disease, they retain minimal mobility. In addition, their spine (in contrast to the male) is deformed to a lesser extent.

4. Internal organs are almost never involved in the process.

Bechterew's disease begins in women with the appearance of pain in various joints, which are not very pronounced and do not specifically limit mobility. Then you can note the pain in the lower back, which occurs closer to the morning, sometimes because of her a woman wakes up. The pain passes during the day. When probing the spine, there is only a slight soreness in the sacrum.

In some cases, one or both hip joints may be the first to suffer , in which pain also appears in the early morning hours and gives in the groin and knee (rarely reaches the heel). In the morning it is difficult to unbend the leg (legs) in these joints, but during the day the symptoms go away. Similar symptoms can occur in the shoulder joints, but they are not very pronounced, quickly (in the first hours) pass after the pain medication is taken, can disappear for a while, then again appear with the same intensity.

Treatment of Bechterew's Disease

"Female" treatment is no different from standard therapy. The only difficulty is to correctly diagnose.

1) Anti-inflammatory preparations "Olfen", "Butadion".

2) In rare cases, intraarticular administration of hormones ("Kenalog", "Diprospan" preparations) is necessary to relieve inflammation.

3) The drug "Sulfasalazine".

4) Immunosuppressants (medicines "Leukeran", "Imuran") can be used if the disease does not respond to standard therapy.

It is important to know that in Bekhterev's disease it is important to keep the motor activity, so that it progresses less.