Rheumatoid arthritis breakthrough

Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful, inflammatory type of arthritis that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks itself. A new paper, published in this week’s issue of PLoS Biology, reports a breakthrough in the understanding of how autoimmune responses can be controlled, offering a promising new strategy for therapy development for rheumatoid arthritis.

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Glucosamine and chondroitin don’t seem to slow osteoarthritis

Two hugely popular supplements used to fight arthritis and joint pain, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, do not seem to work any better than placebo to slow the loss of knee cartilage in osteoarthritis, researchers reported on Monday.

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New study proves that pain is not a symptom of arthritis, pain causes arthritis

New treatments will seek to interrupt ‘crosstalk’ between joints and the spinal cord
Pain is more than a symptom of osteoarthritis, it is an inherent and damaging part of the disease itself, according to a study published today in journal Arthritis and Rheumatism. More specifically, the study revealed that pain signals originating in arthritic joints, and the biochemical processing of those signals as they reach the spinal cord, worsen and expand arthritis. In addition, researchers found that nerve pathways carrying pain signals transfer inflammation from arthritic joints to the spine and back again, causing disease at both ends.

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Study shows pine bark naturally reduces knee osteoarthritis

Third clinical trial reconfirms strong evidence pycnogenol lowers joint pain, symptoms; May now have lasting effect on joints following cessation of the extract

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis, is on the rise. A new study published in the August journal of Phytotherapy Research, reveals Pycnogenol, bark extract from the French maritime pine tree, reduced overall knee osteoarthritis (OA) symptoms by 20.9 percent and lowered pain by 40.3 percent. To date, this is the third clinical trial on osteoarthritis treatment with Pycnogenol. This study investigated what happens to joint symptoms after treatment with Pycnogenol is terminated and the results show that no relapse occurred after two weeks. Pycnogenol acts as potent anti-inflammatory and the lasting effects found in this study suggest that Pycnogenol may help the joints to recover.

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One injection ‘vaccine’ cure for arthritis within five years

A single injection that could cure rheumatoid arthritis is being developed by British scientists. The treatment works like a vaccine and could be available within five years. Cells would be taken from the body, altered, and injected back into the affected joint.

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NIAMS scientists find potential new way to block inflammation in autoimmune disease

Researchers from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have identified a promising new target for autoimmune disease treatment a cell-surface receptor called DR3. Their research in mice, published on line in the journal Immunity, suggests that blocking this receptor could slow or stop the damaging inflammation characteristic of autoimmune diseases, potentially without leaving the body vulnerable to serious infections, as many current therapies do.

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Joint distraction promotes structural repair in patients with severe knee osteoarthritis

Almost complete normalization achieved within 6 months and sustained up to 2 years later

Joint distraction (the use of a surgical frame around a degenerated joint to strengthen and promote repair) promotes cartilage repair in severe end stage osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, as demonstrated for the first time by data presented today at EULAR 2008, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Paris, France.

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Biogen Idec’s baminercept alfa shows promise in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Investigational compound designed to disrupt autoimmune cascade

Biogen Idec will present data on baminercept alfa (BG9924, LTR-Ig), the first dual-mechanism, lymphotoxin-; (LT-;) and LIGHT pathway inhibitor in development for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), during the 2008 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Annual European Congress of Rheumatology at the Le Palais de Congrs de Paris. Three abstracts will be presented, including one podium presentation highlighting the Phase IIa preliminary safety and efficacy data as well as two poster presentations. The Phase IIa data suggest baminercept alfa is well tolerated. DAS, EULAR and other efficacy measures were improved in patients receiving baminercept alfa vs. patients receiving placebo and persisted up to eight weeks after the final baminercept alfa injection.

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A New Approach to Treating Autoimmune Disease

In autoimmune diseases, the immune system turns against the bodys own tissues and organs, wreaking havoc and destruction for no apparent reason. Partly because the origins of these diseases are so obscure, no effective treatment exists, and the suffering they inflict is enormous. Now Weizmann Institute scientists have developed a method that in the future may make it possible to treat autoimmune diseases effectively without necessarily knowing their exact cause. Their approach is equivalent to sending a police force to suppress a riot without seeking out the individuals who instigated the unrest.

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The HLA-DRB1 gene and premature death in rheumatoid arthritis

Gene linked to increased risk of developing inflammatory arthritis may also increase patients’ risk of dying from cardiovascular disease
People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an inflammatory autoimmune disease, tend to die younger and, largely from cardiovascular disease (CVD). One explanation for this increasingly recognized fact is that inflammation promotes atherosclerosis. A marker of inflammation, elevation of the C-reactive protein (CRP) level has been shown to predict CVD in the general population. However, other highly inflammatory diseasesCrohns, for exampledo not carry the same high risk of premature death from heart disease.

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