Ankylosing Spondylitis: Affecting Young & Old

Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic arthritis characterized by inflammation along the joints of the spine and the pelvis, which eventually causes fusion along the joints of the spine – a condition that is called bamboo spine.

Ankylosing spondylitis manifests itself in typically young patients within the age range of 18 to 30-years-of-age. Symptoms begin with stiffness in the lower spine as well as chronic pain, often times the pain travels to one side of the buttocks or another and can travel down the back to the thigh. Unfortunately, ankylosing spondylitis is much more painful on the patient during rest, which almost forces the patient to exercise – which is the best thing to treat the condition.

Traditionally, men are more at risk to developing ankylosing spondylitis over women three-to-one. Interestingly in more than 40-percent of all ankylosing spondylitis cases there is an inflammation of the eye which causes photophobia and intense eye pain. Fatigue is also common, and in patients younger than 18 there is a general swelling and pain in the large joints, such as the knee with the spine soon after.

What Causes Ankylosing Spondylitis?

Ankylosing spondylitis manifests itself as a rheumatic disease in more than 90-percent of all patients in the HLA-B27 genotype, though the specific antibodies for the disease have yet to be identified by researchers.

It has been hypothesized by researchers that ankylosing spondylitis has a relationship with antigens from the Klebsiella bacteria; which is responsible for a number of diseases including septicemia, soft-tissue infections, pneumonia, and urinary tract infections.

While there is no direct test that clinically diagnoses ankylosing spondylitis, studies of the spine and X-ray's often show the spinal deformities as the vertebrae begin to fuse together. The best means of diagnosing ankylosing spondylitis is by using tomography or an MRI in which the sacroiliac joints are fully examined by a physician. Other means of determining ankylosing spondylitis can occur when a patient is experiencing bouts of inflammation which creates contractions of the C-reactive protein in the bloodstream, as well as a general increase in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate; which how quickly the red blood cells regenerate within the course of an hour.

What Causes Ankylosing Spondylitis?

Ankylosing spondylitis manifests itself as a rheumatic disease in more than 90-percent of all patients in the HLA-B27 genotype, though the specific antibodies for the disease have yet to be identified by researchers.

It has been hypothesized by researchers that ankylosing spondylitis has a relationship with antigens from the Klebsiella bacteria; which is responsible for a number of diseases including septicemia, soft-tissue infections, pneumonia, and urinary tract infections.

While there is no direct test that clinically diagnoses ankylosing spondylitis, studies of the spine and X-ray's often show the spinal deformities as the vertebrae begin to fuse together. The best means of diagnosing ankylosing spondylitis is by using tomography or an MRI in which the sacroiliac joints are fully examined by a physician. Other means of determining ankylosing spondylitis can occur when a patient is experiencing bouts of inflammation which creates contractions of the C-reactive protein in the bloodstream, as well as a general increase in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate; which how quickly the red blood cells regenerate within the course of an hour.