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General Knowledge is an important component for most competitive exams, namely the UPSC Civil Services Examination, SSC CGL, Bank PO & PSU entrance tests, etc. Therefore, an understanding of the concepts/terms that are significant in our daily lives is critical for aspirants. To make your preparation easier and to help you score better, we at PaGaLGuY bring you brief articles on trending phenomena and concepts.

As we discussed about autoimmune genetic disorders and its first example type 1 diabetes mellitus in the previous article, we will now know various other examples of such disorders.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

1. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic (long term) autoimmune disorder. The inflammatory nature of this disease can be characterised by swelling and pain in and around the joints. In severe cases it can permanently damage the tissues and joints causing bone erosion and deformity
2. It may occur at any age but is seen mostly in the early 40s. Women are more prone to this disorder than men.
3. Symptoms for RA include tender and swollen joints, morning stiffness in joints that lasts for hours, rheumatoid nodules (firm bumps of tissues under skin), and redness of skin around joints.
4. Mostly affects hands, feet, wrists and knees. It can also affect the lungs and heart.
5. The cause of RA is unknown. It is believed to be a hereditary disorder.
6. Since there is no known cure, treatment focusses on reducing inflammation, pain management, preserving joint function and preventing joint deformity.

Pernicious Anaemia (PA)

1. In this the body fails to produce healthy red blood cells (RBCs) due to lack of vitamin B12, which arises due to absence of intrinsic factor (IF).
2. Intrinsic factor is a protein secreted by the parietal cells (mucus secreting cells of the stomach) that combines with vitamin B12 to produce RBCs. However, in most cases of Pernicious Anaemia, the parietal cells are destroyed by the immune system leading to low production of IF i.e. impaired production of RBCs.
3. Symptoms of PA include severe weakness and fatigue. Long term vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to chronic anaemia, shortness of breath, swollen and bleeding gums and damage to the nervous system.
4. Its deficiency can be detected by a complete blood count test, vitamin B12 and IF deficiency tests. Treatment for PA includes taking injections of vitamin B12 along with consumption of B12 and having iron-rich diet.

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