1, cell phone tail number 6049 readers: my mother’s right finger, if not often move, is very stiff, before is sleeping up, the hand is only stiff. She mainly has this condition in the middle and ring fingers of her right hand, not numb, but a little swollen, not moving freely, playing to go can not be in place. Which department should I go to for a checkup? (I mainly want to ask the professor to teach the reader to distinguish those four possibilities, and to look at the whole body from the situation of the fingers, feeling that the human body is very wonderful. Zhao Futao, Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, North Hospital of the Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine A: You should visit the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology. There are several possibilities: 1, rheumatoid arthritis, early can appear finger small joint swelling, mostly involving the proximal interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal joints, does not affect the distal joints, accompanied by morning stiffness, generally morning stiffness is greater than half an hour. 2, osteoarthritis, mostly seen in the elderly, bony expansion at the hand joints, morning stiffness is generally less than half an hour. 3, spinal arthritis, mostly accompanied by lumbago when sleeping or resting, can do sacroiliac joint CT examination can be done to help confirm the diagnosis. 4. Secondary arthritis, which is secondary to other rheumatic diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, dry syndrome, scleroderma, etc., with corresponding clinical manifestations. 2, 0775-5321736 Ms. Chen, Guangxi asked: I suffer from rheumatoid arthritis for more than 10 years, what drugs have eaten are not effective, and now the large joints of the hands and feet slightly deformed, can not stretch very straight (but the doctor said I have been ill for more than 10 years, this situation is considered very good), can not walk fast, up and down the stairs have to lift step by step, standing and walking time can only 10 minutes, the doctor said I because rheumatoid The doctor said I had osteoporosis and a little damage to the joint cartilage because of rheumatoid rheumatism over time. Once in a while, I saw an advertisement that said a kind of three black pure ant powder to cure this disease, one pound a packet, each packet 80 yuan, a packet to eat 1 month, I ate is two years (3 times a day, each time 5 grams, boiled water), indeed, better and stable some, please ask ant powder to cure rheumatoid arthritis right? I am now trying to reduce the amount a little. But, is there a better medicine or health supplement? Are rheumatoid and osteoporosis necessarily related? A: Eating ant powder for rheumatoid arthritis is effective and anti-immune treatment, which should be better for patients with mild disease. There are many drugs that can be used, such as methotrexate, leflunomide, lorazepam, thalidomide, hydroxychloroquine, etc. There are also more effective biological agents, such as Enzyme, Ixep, etc., but they are expensive. Rheumatoid arthritis patients are often accompanied by osteoporosis due to treatment with hormones, coupled with active cytokines that affect bone metabolism. 3, 137 3908 9977 readers asked: My wife is 49 years old, menopausal for 3 years, in the past two years the right knee appears walking, exercise will be pain, feel very fatigue, knee can not force, to the hospital orthopedic examination, the doctor said my knee is no problem (image performance see below), considered osteoporosis, gave me a few months of calcium carbonate D3, eaten without any improvement. Now the situation has worsened, with numbness in the muscles below the knee, because the test is a bit rheumatic (the results are below, the doctor said I do not have rheumatoid, but have rheumatism.) I took rheumatism medicine (Chinese herbal medicine, ointment and Guilong Tendonin tablets that I bought myself at the pharmacy), but it didn’t work. Now walking for 10 minutes is uncomfortable, but not very painful, and it doesn’t matter if I don’t walk or exercise. In addition, I only had stiffness in the second finger joint of my left hand, but now I have it in both hands (the middle finger is the worst); my fingers did not hurt, but now they hurt a little, but there has been no redness or numbness. I have strength in my hands, but if I work too much, my fingers get more stiff. It’s better during the day, but when I get up after a nap, the stiffness is bad. Also, I found out about cervical spondylosis 2 years ago. I used to have neck pain and back pain, but now I’m almost better, only a little swelling at the back of my neck. There is back pain when doing work. A: Your wife is advised to have an MRI of the knee to confirm the diagnosis. Two possibilities are more likely. If cartilage degeneration and meniscal damage are found, it is early osteoarthritis; if synovitis is found, it may be spondyloarthritis. 4, 133 6371 9928 readers asked (the other party’s phone is turned off, I can not ask a clear condition, its text message content is as follows): I am a patient suffering from rheumatoid three years, has been eating Western medicine herbal medicine capsule, several drugs to control the disease, the liver and kidneys are damaged, I am very painful, and I heard to take drugs for life. Is there a good medicine or doctor can help me eradicate? A: Some of the drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis have an effect on liver and kidney function. If there is no primary liver or kidney disease, it can be avoided if it is caused by drugs alone. Now the most effective and hopefully curative are biologics, such as Enzyme, Ixipro, and Dronc, but they are expensive and can be used when available.