New Genetic Marker for Osteoarthritis - Study Links Estrogen Receptor to Osteoarthritis in Both Men and WomenJune 26, 2003Among patients with osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative joint disease, postmenopausal women are the most prevalent. This fact has led to many hypotheses about the role of sex hormones in the cause and effects of OA. Medical researchers at Erasmus MC in the Netherlands recently uncovered a compelling connection between a variation in gene for the estrogen receptor alpha and OA of the knee-in men as well as in women. Published in the July 2003 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, their study makes an important contribution to what could lead to early detection and treatment of OA, with the potential to spare many older patients the fate of disability. While affirming genetic influences as an important factor in the development of OA, this study calls for further research into the impact of estrogen on disease pathology. Among the study's participants, women carrying the allele PX gene had more than a two-fold increased risk for severe OA, determined by knee radiographs, compared with women without this estrogen receptor variant. What's more, the findings were similar for men. Most significantly, this study reveals a new genetic marker for osteoarthritis, in both men and women. Estrogen, however, remains an intriguing risk factor in a disease afflicting the elderly in near epidemic proportions. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Related Arthritis News Articles Bone marrow stem cells may help control inflammatory bowel disease Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have found that infusions of a particular bone marrow stem cell appeared to protect gastrointestinal tissue from autoimmune attack in a mouse model. Researchers discover how rheumatoid arthritis causes bone loss Researchers have discovered key details of how rheumatoid arthritis (RA) destroys bone, according to a study published in the Aug. 22 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. New test to diagnose osteoarthritis early A newly developed medical imaging technology may provide doctors with a long-awaited test for early diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA), scientists from New York reported today at the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. NIH scientists find a novel mechanism that controls the development of autoimmunity Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found a mechanism in the immune systems of mice that can lead to the development of autoimmune disease when turned off. Protein complementarity may offer new insights into autoimmune diseases The discovery of "complementary" antibodies against plasminogen in patients with blood vessel inflammation caused by anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCAs) may lead to new approaches to research, testing, and treatment of ANCA vasculitis and other autoimmune diseases, suggests a paper in the December Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). UNC study: shape, not just size, impacts effectiveness of emerging nanomedicine therapies In the budding field of nanotechnology, scientists already know that size does matter. But now, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown that shape matters even more - a finding that could lead to new and more effective methods for treating cancer and other diseases, from diabetes and multiple sclerosis to arthritis and obesity. Frankincense provides relief to arthritis sufferers An enriched extract of the 'Indian Frankincense' herb Boswellia serrata has been proven to reduce the symptoms of osteoarthritis. Research published today in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy has shown that patients taking the herbal remedy showed significant improvement in as little as seven days. 'Stuffy nose' mouse: A promise to help treat 31 million with sinusitis Mice with inflamed nasal tissue being tested at a Johns Hopkins laboratory may be unable to tell if something smells bad or good, but their sensory deficit is nothing to turn up a nose at. New Guidelines for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis Proven combinations of medicines and the introduction of new anti-arthritis drugs have significantly improved the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to guidelines issued by the American College of Rheumatology and co-authored by physicians at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Once suspect protein found to promote DNA repair, prevent cancer An abundant chromosomal protein that binds to damaged DNA prevents cancer development by enhancing DNA repair, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science. More Arthritis News Articles |
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