Simple yoga poses for weight loss in which the body’s immune system turns against and destroys healthy tissue. In rheumatoid arthritis, the primary targets of the attack are the synovial linings of the joints and sometimes the similarly designed membranes lining the blood vessels, heart, and lungs. In a joint affected by rheumatoid arthritis, both the synovial lining and the fluid it secretes become infiltrated with white blood cells from the lymph nodes, spleen, thymus, and circulating blood. These cells normally help protect the body from harmful invaders such as viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms collectively known as antigens.
But in rheumatoid arthritis a number of types of white blood cells can cause harm. B cells so named because they mature in the bone marrow are responsible for the production of antibodies, proteins designed specifically to destroy a particular foreign substance. While antibodies help rid our bodies of infection, misdirected antibodies cause damage. Many people with rheumatoid arthritis have an abnormal antibody called rheumatoid factor RF in their blood.
