Question

All of the following are true about Rheumatoid arthritis, except

• A. PIP and DIP joints involved equally
• B. Pathology limited to articular cartilage
• C. Women are affected 3 times more commonly than men
• D. 20% of patients have extra articular manifestations

Hint:

RA destroys far more than cartilage; the synovial pannus erodes bone and soft tissue too.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: This is a negative-lead question asking which statement is false about rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Note that the printed key marks option (d), but the medically false statement is option (b).

Step 2: RA is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease associated with HLA-DR4. The pathology is NOT limited to the articular cartilage - it begins in the synovium with pannus formation and progressively destroys cartilage, subchondral bone, ligaments and tendons. So option (b) is false.

Step 3: Checking the true statements - RA characteristically spares the DIP joints and involves MCP and PIP joints; women are affected about 3 times more than men; and extra-articular features (nodules, vasculitis, lung, eye involvement) do occur in a notable fraction of patients. The claim in option (a) that PIP and DIP are involved equally is actually wrong too, but the single best false answer chosen here is the pathology being limited to cartilage.

Step 4: Therefore the exception (false statement) is that pathology is limited to articular cartilage.