Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and Its Management with Homoeopathy

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) unifies all forms of chronic childhood arthritis, affecting not only joints, but extra-articular structures, including eyes, skin, and internal organs, leading to disability and even associated fatality. It is defined as the presence of arthritis of unknown aetiology that begins before the age of 16 and persists for at least 6 weeks.1 The International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) stratifies subtype of autoimmune inflammatory disorders, determined by the number of joints affected, the presence of systemic symptoms and detection of rheumatoid factor (RF). JIA is divided into the sub-forms: oligoarticular (persistent or extended), polyarticular (RF-negative or RF-positive), systemic (sJIA), psoriatic arthritis and enthesitis-related arthritis, with each differing in genetic susceptibility and severity of arthritis.1