11 Famous People With Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Peter Paul Rubens

The famous seventeenth-century Flemish artist may have had rheumatoid arthritis. Rubens complained of “gouty rheumatism,” which left him bedridden at times, but some experts believe his symptoms were more likely due to RA.

Also, the hands of people in the paintings he made in the last 30 years of his life appear to show the characteristic swelling and deformity of progressive RA.

Dr. Hadler, however, believes this "is a stylistic issue, and not a depiction of swollen joints."

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