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Medicineworld.org: Archives of rheumatology news blog
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Archives Of Rheumatology News Blog From Medicineworld.Org
Nationwide Rheumatoid Arthritis Studies
Scientists are now seeking patients to participate in three clinical research studies. Each study will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of an investigational drug, rituximab, in combination with methotrexate, as compared to using methotrexate alone. The goal of current RA therapys is to maintain normal joint function by alleviating pain, preventing joint damage, and reducing joint swelling and stiffness. During the last decade, many new therapies have entered clinical practice for RA, however, a number of patients still do not respond adequately to the available therapys. There remains a significant unmet need for new, effective therapies for patients with this chronic condition. To be eligible to participate in the studies, you must meet specific criteria including, but not limited to: have active RA, and be between the ages of 18 and 80. To learn more about the studies, call toll-free. 1-888-82-STUDY (78839) or visit www.StudyRA.com......... Posted by: Mark Permalink Source Impact Of Injury On Cartilage Cells
Tissue damage typically stimulates an influx of leukocytes, white blood cells known for promoting tissue regeneration and healing--to tissue protecting organs. However leukocytes can be a double edged sword. In the May 2006 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/arthritis), scientists at Baylor College of Medicine and the Michael E DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston, Texas, present the results of a study to test the hypothesis that leukocytes extend the zone of damage and cell death in cartilage after an acute injury. The research team began with a collection of dog bones--the hind knee joints of 24 fresh young adult cadaver canines. Within one hour after death, each bone was subjected to impact injury with a metal weight, determined sufficient to cause cartilage damage without shattering the bone. A comparable collection of cadaver canine bones was preserved to serve as controls. All of the knee joints were cultured with blood leukocytes from the same dogCartilage biopsies were taken at various intervals between 12 hours and 7 days......... Posted by: Mark Permalink Source Taking Care Of ACL Tears
Murray envisions a simple outpatient procedure for repairing ACL tears: injection of a collagen gel, mixed with the patient's own platelets and plasma, via a small knee incision. [Image: P. Bibbins]
"This is a first important step in showing that the ACL can heal if we give it the right conditions," Murray says. "That's an important shift from thinking that the ACL has to be completely replaced after an injury". ACL injuries are notorious for not healing well. Epidemic among teenage girls -- who are five times likelier than boys to tear the ligament -- they typically occur during sports that involve jumping and pivoting, like soccer or basketball. ACLs are currently reconstructed by replacing the torn ligament with a tendon graft. This painful operation allows patients to return to sports after significant rehabilitation, but it does not fully restore knee mechanics, and does not prevent arthritis from developing years later. Working with an animal model of a partial ACL tear, Murray's team inserted a collagen gel, mixed with platelet-rich blood plasma, into the wound. The gel provided a physical "bridge" between the torn ligament ends, while the platelets churned out a variety of growth factors. Compared with untreated knees, knees treated with the gel showed greater defect filling at 6 weeks (43 percent versus 23 percent). The gel-treated ACL defects also had a 40 percent increase in mechanical strength at 6 weeks, compared with just 14 percent for untreated defects......... Posted by: Mark Permalink Source Hypertension Drug Reverses Death Of Cells
Riyi Shi
A research team led by Riyi Shi (REE-yee SHEE) and Richard Borgens found that hydralazine, a medicine that relaxes veins and arteries, may be an antidote for acrolein, a deadly toxin that is produced after a nerve cell is injured. New findings based on research at the cellular level are detailed in two studies reported in the Journal of Neuroscience Research today (Monday, April 17). In the first article, scientists examine how acrolein attacks and kills cells. In the second article, they demonstrate that cell death caused by acrolein (a-KRO-le-an), a byproduct of an injury, can be reversed when hydralazine is administered. "This is probably the most important fundamental discovery we have made at the Center for Paralysis Research because we are saving nerve cells from death," said Borgens, Mari Hulman George Professor of Applied Neurology in the School of Veterinary Medicine and founder of the paralysis research center where the research was conducted. "Initially we may use this discovery for spinal cord injury and stroke, but we can expect further studies will look at how it works against a whole spectrum of injury and disease," he said......... Posted by: Daniel Permalink Source Forearm Supports Reduce Upper Body Pain Linked To Computer Use
Published in the April 18 issue, the study shows that use of large arm boards significantly reduces neck and shoulder pain as well as hand, wrist and forearm pain. "Based on these outcomes, employers should consider providing employees who use computers with appropriate forearm support," said lead author David Rempel, MD, MPH, director of the ergonomics program at San Francisco General Hospital and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Study findings also show arm boards and ergonomics training provide the most protective effect, with a statistically significant reduction in both neck and shoulder pain and right hand/wrist/forearm pain in comparison to the control group, who did not receive forearm support. The boards reduced the risk of incidence of neck and shoulder disorders by nearly half. As per the authors, musculoskeletal disorders of the neck, shoulders and arms are a common occupational health problem for individuals involved in computer-based customer service work. Specific disorders include wrist tendonitis, elbow tendonitis and muscle strain of the neck and upper back. These health problems account for a majority of lost work time in call centers and other computer-based jobs. "Extended hours of mouse or keyboard use and sustained awkward postures, such as wrist extension, are the most consistently observed risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders," Rempel added......... Posted by: Janet Permalink Source Drug To Reduce Gastric Ulcers In NSAID Users
NSAIDs are a class of pain relief medications that include traditional, non-selective drugs, such as ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin, and newer COX-2-selective agents. Nonselective NSAIDs are known for increasing the risk of gastric ulcers, especially among older patients who take them regularly or who have a history of gastric ulcers. Pooled data from the double-blind, randomized, six-month trials showed that significantly fewer patients taking either NEXIUM 20 mg or NEXIUM 40 mg, in addition to their regular non-selective NSAID/selective-COX-2 treatment, developed an ulcer at six months, compared to those taking a placebo (5.2 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, vs. 17 percent, p<0.001). These differences were seen as early as the first month of therapy and maintained throughout the study duration. "Paradoxically, NSAID use is common among patients at high risk for gastric ulcers or other complications associated with these medications. Eventhough COX-2-selective drugs generally cause fewer gastric ulcers than non-selective NSAIDs, these events aren't completely eliminated, and the residual side-effect rate still may be high," said James M. Scheiman, MD, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan. "Data from the two trials showed that NEXIUM was effective in reducing stomach ulcers in at-risk patients who require chronic NSAID therapy."........ Posted by: Sue Permalink Source How Gold Works In Arthritis
Gold coins
"We were searching for a new drug to treat autoimmune diseases," says Brian DeDecker, PhD, HMS post-doctoral student in the Department of Cell Biology and a co-author of study. At the time of this work, DeDecker was in the Harvard Medical School Institute of Chemistry and Cell Biology, which uses powerful chemical tools to illuminate complex biological processes and provide new leads for drug development. "But instead we discovered a biochemical mechanism that may help explain how an old drug works". DeDecker and co-author Stephen De Wall, PhD, undertook a large-scale search for new drugs that would suppress the function of an important component of the immune system, MHC class II proteins, which are associated with autoimmune diseases. MHC class II proteins normally hold pieces of invading bacteria and virus on the surface of specialized antigen presentation cells. Presentation of these pieces alerts other specialized recognition cells of the immune system called lymphocytes, which starts the normal immune response. Commonly this response is limited to harmful bacteria and viruses, but sometimes this process goes awry and the immune system turns towards the body itself causing autoimmune diseases such as Juvenile diabetes, Lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis......... Posted by: Mark Permalink Source link between rheumatoid arthritis and cancer
Are certain RA patients more vulnerable to developing lymphoma? Do certain RA therapies--from standard NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and DMARDs (disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs) to novel immunosuppressive agents like TNF (tumor necrosis factor) blockers--work to alleviate or aggravate lymphoma risk? On a quest for answers, researchers in Sweden conducted the largest investigation of the link between RA and lymphoma to date. Their findings, featured in the March 2006 issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/arthritis), indicate a substantially increased risk of lymphoma among patients with severe RA. Very high and prolonged inflammatory activity, not its treatment, is the major risk factor. Drawing their sample from a national register of nearly 75,000 RA patients, the research team analyzed the medical records and case histories of 378 RA patients afflicted with malignant lymphoma between 1964 and 1995 and 378 individually matched, lymphoma-free controls. Using statistical analysis, the relative risks or odds ratios for lymphoma were assessed for three different levels of overall disease activity--low, medium, or high--based on disease duration and swollen and tender joint counts. Odds ratios for lymphoma were also compared to treatment in broad categories: any DMARD, any NSAID, aspirin, oral steroids, injected steroids, and cytotoxic drugs. No patient in the sample had received anti-TNF therapy. In addition, lymphoma specimens were reclassified and tested for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)......... Posted by: Mark Permalink Source The Critical Role Of The Meniscus
While meniscectomy appears to be a significant risk factor for OA, scientists know little about the effect of meniscal damage and abnormalities on cartilage loss in knees with a predisposition for the disease. The March 2006 issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/arthritis) shares the results of a study that sheds new light on the importance of an intact and functioning meniscus for patients with symptomatic knee OA. The study, led by David Hunter of Boston University School of Medicine, focused on 257 subjects enrolled in the Boston Osteoarthritis of the Knee Study. The majority, 58 percent, were men and the mean age was 66.6 years. All subjects met the American College of Rheumatology criteria for symptomatic knee OA, confirmed by X-rays and self-reports of frequent knee pain and stiffness. At the study's onset and follow-up examinations at 15 and 30 months, participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the more symptomatic knee. Using the MR images, scientists measured the position of the meniscus, as well as evaluated and scored the severity of meniscal damage. Among the MRI-assessed knees, 29% had a prior injury, 27% had a prior surgery, and 5% had a prior meniscectomy......... Posted by: Mark Permalink Source Discovery That May Lead to New Treatments
The image above at left shows normal blood vessels in a mouse paw. Five minutes after receiving arthritis-causing antibodies, the blood vessels become leaky, as shown at right.
Photo by Bryce Binstadt, M.D., Ph.D., and Pratik Patel
Courtesy Joslin Diabetes Center and Massachusetts General Hospital
The answer did surprise researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, who gained a novel insight into this question in a recent collaborative study. Their report appeared in the January 29 online issue of Nature Immunology, and is scheduled to appear in the February print edition. Working with an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis, the scientists discovered that histamine, a small molecule commonly associated with asthma and allergy, is produced as part of the inflammatory process during the development of arthritis. Histamine made the blood vessels surrounding the joints particularly vulnerable to leakage, and thereby rendered the joints more susceptible to inflammatory attack. The scientists think that this is true not only in rheumatoid arthritis, but perhaps also in other autoimmune conditions with which arthritis is associated, such as lupus, and in some infectious diseases, like Lyme disease. "For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, these new findings raise the possibility that medications designed to prevent the blood vessels from becoming leaky might one day be used to delay the onset of arthritis or to prevent flare-ups of disease," said Christophe Benoist, M.D., Ph.D., who led the study together with Diane Mathis, Ph.D., and Ralph Weissleder, M.D., Ph.D. Drs. Mathis and Benoist head Joslin's Section on Immunology and Immunogenetics, hold the William T. Young Chair in Diabetes Research at Joslin, and are Professors of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Weissleder heads the Center for Molecular Imaging Research at MGH and is a Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School......... Posted by: Mark Permalink Source Older Blog Entries 1
Did you know?
A recently identified path of inflammation once thought to be wholly independent of other inflammatory systems has now been linked to another major pathway. The findings by neuroresearchers at Johns Hopkins are likely to point researchers to novel drugs that significantly reduce the risks of taking COX-2 inhibitor pain relievers, the researchers report.
Medicineworld.org: Archives of rheumatology news blog
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