Health & Medicine - Posted by Nathan Hurst-Missouri on Friday, May 18, 2012 10:36 - 5 Comments 
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Test detects arthritis before joints hurt
A new biomarker test can not only detect if someone is developing arthritis but also can predict the potential severity of the disease. (Credit: "painful foot" via Shutterstock)
U. MISSOURI (US) — A new test can accurately detect and predict arthritis before patients begin suffering from symptoms.
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The text of this article by Futurity is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License.
More than 27 million adults suffer from osteoarthritis, which is the most common form of arthritis. In the past, doctors have been unable to diagnose patients with arthritis until they begin to show symptoms, which include joint pain and stiffness. But by the time the symptoms are present, it is often too late for preventive and minimally invasive treatment options to be effective.
Using specific biomarkers, the new test can accurately determine if a patient is developing arthritis as well as predict the potential severity of the disease. The test can be run off of a single drop of fluid from a patient’s joint, which is obtained with a small needle similar to drawing blood.
“With this biomarker test, we can study the levels of specific proteins that we now know are associated with osteoarthritis,” says James Cook, professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Missouri.
“Not only does the test have the potential to help predict future arthritis, but it also tells us about the early mechanisms of arthritis, which will lead to better treatments in the future.”
Published in the Journal of Knee Surgery, Cook and colleagues report that they developed the test by analyzing the joints of dogs that suffer from arthritis.
Veterinarians predict that 20 percent of middle-aged dogs and 90 percent of older dogs have osteoarthritis in one or more joints. Since canine joints operate similarly to the joints of humans, Cook says the test is being adapted to human patients.
“This test has already shown early usefulness for allowing us to monitor how different treatments affect the arthritic joints in people,” Cook says.
“With further validation, this test will allow doctors to adjust and fine tune treatments to individual patients. Also, being able to tell patients when they are at a high risk for developing arthritis will give doctors a strong motivational tool to convince patients to take preventive measures including appropriate exercise and diet change.”
The biomarker test is currently available for licensing and is in the process of gaining FDA approval.
More news from the University of Missouri: http://munews.missouri.edu/
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5 Comments
INTRA-ARTICULAR VARIATION OF SYNOVIAL CHANGES IN KNEE ARTHRITIS:
Variation of synovial changes in the knee joint was studied in 23 patients. Histological features of biopsies taken from the patellofemoral joint synovium were compared with biopsies taken from the synovium of the medial tibiofemoral joint.
Knee osteoarthritis is a common but often difficult problem to manage in primary care. Traditional nonsurgical management, consisting of lifestyle modification, physical therapy and pharmacologic therapy (e.g., analgesics, anti-inflammatory medications), is often ineffective or leaves residual symptoms.
MD Therapeutics is a medical nutrition company founded on the principle that quality nutrition improves lives.
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Our nutritional supplements are sold exclusively through medical practitioners around the world. This is to ensure that they are used only under proper medical care, for the most appropriate conditions, and produce the maximum benefit to consumers.
Arthritis is a disorder in the joints accompanied by inflammation. The term arthritis comes from the Greek word arthro which means “joint” and itis, meaning “inflammation”.People who have arthritis usually complain of pain in the joints. The pain is caused by the inflammation occurring around the joints that are affected, and is constant and localized. Arthritis pain can become severe with daily joint wear and tear, strains and forceful movements and fatigue on the affected joint. Arthritis symptoms vary in people and the illness comes in more than a hundred forms the most common of which is a result of age and infection or trauma in the joints.
Osteoarthritis is the degeneration of joint cartilage, followed by bone degeneration in some areas and bone overgrowth in others. Primary osteoarthritis is a disease associated with aging, but not part of the normal aging process. The older you are, the more likely you are to have osteoarthritis. Secondary osteoarthritis will develop earlier in life, occurring about 10 years after an injury or physical stress. Osteoarthritis commonly affects the knees, hips, hands and spine. It can occur in other joints, but rarely. An osteoarthritic joint may feel painful during or after movement and stiff after inactivity. Occupations with repetitive tasks that place stress on particular joints have a higher risk for causing osteoarthritis. Also, carrying more body weight, a sedentary lifestyle, and being a woman increases your risk of developing osteoarthritis
Great information. Most people confuse the Medial ligament with the Anterior one, like they confuse osteoarthritis with other conditions.
Love the website, and you seem like a good information provider. I may direct my visitors to your articles in the future. Would love to see more information regarding osteoarthritis of knee, which many do not get precise data regarding the subject.
Regards,
John.
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INTRA-ARTICULAR VARIATION OF SYNOVIAL CHANGES IN KNEE ARTHRITIS:
Variation of synovial changes in the knee joint was studied in 23 patients. Histological features of biopsies taken from the patellofemoral joint synovium were compared with biopsies taken from the synovium of the medial tibiofemoral joint.
Knee osteoarthritis is a common but often difficult problem to manage in primary care. Traditional nonsurgical management, consisting of lifestyle modification, physical therapy and pharmacologic therapy (e.g., analgesics, anti-inflammatory medications), is often ineffective or leaves residual symptoms.
MD Therapeutics is a medical nutrition company founded on the principle that quality nutrition improves lives.
We formulate only products based on the highest standards of clinical evidence and produced in strict conformance to current Good Manufacturing Practices(cGMP).
Our nutritional supplements are sold exclusively through medical practitioners around the world. This is to ensure that they are used only under proper medical care, for the most appropriate conditions, and produce the maximum benefit to consumers.