Alliedhealthcare Headline Animator

Monday 3 October 2011

Extending Life Of Arthritic Joints

A medication already approved to build bone mass in patients with osteoporosis also builds cartilage around joints and could potentially be repurposed to treat millions of people suffering from arthritis, according to orthopaedic research at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

The study authors hope their laboratory findings, published in the current issue ofScience Translational Medicine, will set the stage for the first human clinical trials to test human parathyroid hormone (brand name:Forteo) in this growing patient population.

Since 2005, arthritis has been ranked as the leading cause of disability in the United States by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And by 2030 an estimated 67 million people, or 25 percent of the adult population in this country will have osteoarthritis (OA), a painful, degenerative joint disease that often begins with an injury and results in the progressive loss of cartilage. Current treatments for OA do not help improve the cartilage in the diseased joint, they only make the pain more bearable. Examples include oral anti-inflammatory agents (such as Advil or Naproxen), narcotics, or steroid injections into the affected joint. Surgical replacement of the joint and cartilage is usually required, although this major intervention often carries its own set of complications. 

Link:http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/234826.php

No comments:

Post a Comment