Juvenile Arthritis
Double-jointed teens risk musculoskeletal pain
Young people who are double-jointed (joint hypermobility) are more likely to experience joint pain in their teenage years, according to new UK research.
A team from the University of Bristol studied 3,000 people and found that those with hypermobility when nearly 14 years old were about twice as likely to have pain in the shoulder, knee, ankle and foot when they were 18 years old. And young people who were obese were 11 times more likely says that study, published in Arthritis and Rheumatism.
Some experts believe that the ability to bend and stretch the joints outside of the normal range may result in pain or arthritis in later life. Half of teenagers experience muscle or joint pain lasting for a day or longer but in some this continues into adulthood. Continue reading
Fibromyalgia drugs called into question
Two common drugs for pain reduction in people with fibromyalgia had widely varying outcomes in a German study. Scientists found that duloxetine (Cymbalta) and milnacipran (Savella) were as likely to harm patients as they were to help them. In their study of 6,000 people who had been treated with one or the two drugs or a placebo for up to six months, 22% of patients had significant reductions in pain but 21% were forced to quit treatment because of the side effects. Continue reading
Hip implant failure more likely in women than men
Copyright Dave Coverly
The risk of total hip failure is low but is slightly higher in women than men, says research published in JAMA Internal Medicine. A large new study of 35,000 people from 46 hospitals in the US found that of the people who need total hip replacement, women were 29% more likely to need repeat surgery in the first three years than men.
Hip implant failure is rare. In this study 97.4% of replacements made it to the end of the five-year study but in those that failed, women were: Continue reading
Proposed cuts to DLA will affect people with arthritis
Hundreds of thousands of disabled people are set to lose benefits and Motability vehicles under the final rules for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the benefit that will replace Disability Living Allowance.
The new criteria for PIP are tougher than for DLA, so many will lose DLA and access to the Motability Scheme, which provides vehicles. The rules will affect everyone who claims DLA, as all current DLA claimants will be re-assessed to see if they qualify for PIP. Continue reading
Rheumatoid arthritis prevented in mice
Lead author, Dr Harvey Cantor, has high hopes for the future treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
A strategy has been developed for blocking the development of rheumatoid arthritis in mice, giving hope for improved treatment of arthritis in people. US scientists from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that infusing regulatory T cells into arthritis-prone mice shut down the inflammation that damages tissues and joints.
The process worked best when the infusion of cells was given at the same time that rheumatoid arthritis was induced in the mice. However, even if the cells were injected weeks after the onset of the disease, when they were combined with low doses of methotrexate (commonly used for rheumatoid arthritis) the progress of arthritis was significantly slowed down.
The human immune system is a network of cells, tissues and organs that, when functioning normally, attacks and destroys infections, viruses and parasites. But in autoimmune diseases, parts of the immune system attack the individual’s own healthy cells and tissues.Current drugs for rheumatoid arthritis reduce inflammation and slow the disease but even the newest treatments are generally not optimal and can have side effects. So the development of new drugs is essential to improve quality of life for people with the debilitating disease.
The results “represent a promising therapeutic approach to autoimmune disorders,” the researchers claim in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Scientists now need to test the approach in mice carrying human immune cells.
