Coping with Psoriatic Arthritis

There are a heck of a lot of acronyms that surround Psoriatic Arthritis and its related diseases! With that in mind, here's a running list of the acronyms you're likely to encounter on this blog, or in conversation with your doctor or fellow patients:

• AS - ankylosing spondylitis. This is a related form of arthritis that can cause the spine and sacroiliac joints to fuse.¹
• CRP - C-reactive protein. This is a blood test that measures a form of protein. Elevated levels can indicate inflammation.²
• DDX - differential diagnosis.
• DIP - distal interphalangeal predominate. Distal interphalangeal refers to the last knuckle of the fingers or toes. DIP is the "classic" presentation of psoriatic arthritis, but not the most common.³
• DMARD - disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug. This is a class of treatment for various forms of inflammatory arthritis. They are particularly "disease modifying" for rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methotrexate, sulfasalazine, and plaquenil are a few drugs in this class.
• Dx - diagnosis.
• ESR - erythrocyte sedimentation rate. This is a blood test performed to check for inflammation. It's commonly called the "sed rate".⁴
• FM or FMS - fibromyalgia syndrome. Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes chronic widespread muskuloskeletal pain. It is a common misdiagnosis for psoriatic arthritis, but also occurs alongside psoriatic arthritis and other autoimmune diseases quite frequently.⁵
• GP - general practitioner.
• HLA B27 - human leukocyte antigen B27. This is a blood test for a protein found on the surface of white blood cells. HLA B27 is an indication of ankylosing spondylitis and some other spondyloarthropothies.⁶
• JIA or JRA - juvenile idiopathic arthritis or juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
• MTX - methotrexate. This is a type of DMARD. Methotrexate is a chemotheraphy drug, but is used in smaller doses for inflammatory arthritis treatment.⁷
• NPF - National Psoriasis Foundation.
• NSAID - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
• OA - osteoarthritis. Also known as your grandmother's arthritis.
• PCP - primary care provider.
• PsA - psoriatic arthritis.
• RA - rheumatoid arthritis.
• ReA - reactive arthritis.
• RF - rheumatoid factor. An indication of rheumatoid arthritis, this test is rarely positive for psoriatic arthritis patients.
• Rx - prescription.
• SAA - Spondylitis Association of America.
• SIJs - sacroiliac joints.
• SpA - spondyloarthropothy or spondyloarthritis. This is the name of the group of diseases that includes psoriatic arthritis.⁸ 
• SSDI - social security disability insurance.
• SSZ - sulfasalazine, a type of DMARD.
• TB - tuberculosis. Testing for tuberculosis is required before starting TNF inhibitor treatment. Latent infections must be treated to prevent them from becoming active while taking TNF inhibitors.⁹
• TNF and Anti-TNF - tumor necrosis factor. Anti-TNFs or TNF-alpha inhibitors block a portion of the immune system thought to cause inflammation. This is a common treatment for moderate to severe psoriatic arthritis.¹⁰
• USpA - undifferentiated spondyloarthropothy. This is the diagnosis given to patients whose disease has not differentiated itself as psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, or another specific spondyloarthropothy.¹¹