Arthritis in Biological News

New trigger for chronic inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis discovered

A signal molecule made by the human body that triggers the immune system into action may be important in rheumatoid arthritis, according to new research published today in Nature Medicine . The authors of the study, from Imperial College London, say that if scientists could block this signal, it ...

Inhibiting proteins may prevent cartilage breakdown in arthritis patients

COLUMBIA, Mo. Current arthritis medications can ease the pain, but stopping the progression of the disease requires more aggressive treatments: use of very limited available drugs or surgical intervention. University of Missouri researchers hope to find new therapeutic targets for arthritis by st...

Geisinger research: Antimalarial drug prevents diabetes in arthritis patients

DANVILLE, PA - The use of an antimalarial medication may prevent the onset of diabetes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, new Geisinger research shows. Researchers examined the records of 2,093 Geisinger patients who received treatment for rheumatoid arthritis from 2000 to 2008. The study ...

Stem cells offer cartilage repair hope for arthritis sufferers

Research being presented today (11 April) at the UK National Stem Cell Network Annual Science Meeting in Edinburgh could offer hope that bone stem cells may be harnessed to repair the damaged cartilage that is one of the main symptoms of osteoarthritis. Scientists at Cardiff University have suc...

Cancer and arthritis therapy may be promising treatment for diabetes

New Haven, Conn.An antibody used to treat certain cancers and rheumatoid arthritis appears to greatly delay type 1 diabetes in mice, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Even better, the beneficial effects of the antibody continue to be observed ...

Rheumatologists win $1.2M for arthritis research

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Three researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have been awarded a combined $1.2 million to study the underlying causes of rheumatoid arthritis and to help find a cure for the disease. The grants were among 15 awards nationwide made through the American C...

Gene expression findings a step toward better classification and treatment of juvenile arthritis

Scientists have discovered gene expression differences that could lead to better ways to classify, predict outcome, and treat juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Eventually such findings could enable doctors to target more aggressive treatment to children at risk of more severe arthritis, while t...

Researchers identify new risk factor gene for rheumatoid arthritis

Scientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and a team of collaborators from across the country have identified a new risk factor gene for rheumatoid arthritis. The paper will be published in Nature Genetics and the finding brings light to the nature of the disease. The gene, dubb...

Bad mix of bacterial remnants and genetics leads to arthritis

Here's another reason to hate leftovers. A research study appearing in the April 2009 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology ( http://www.jleukbio.org ) sheds light on one cause of arthritis: bacteria. In the study, scientists from the United States and The Netherlands show that a specific ge...

Gene therapy demonstrates benefit in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

BOSTON -- Researchers have reported the first clinical evidence that gene therapy reduces symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, an important milestone for this promising treatment which has endured a sometimes turbulent past. Described in the February issue of the journal Human Gene T...

New therapeutic target identified for rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery have identified a potential new therapeutic target that could be used to treat inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis. The study, published online ahead of print, will appear Nov. 15 in the journal Immunity . Specifically, the study re...

New guidelines for treating rheumatoid arthritis

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. 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 Alab...

Study suggests genetic connection between short stature and arthritis

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Common genetic variants linked to arthritis may also play a role in human height, a new study shows. The international study was co-led by the University of Michigan School of Public Health. The journal Nature Genetics will publish the findings online Jan. 13. The new stu...

Blood clotting protein linked to rheumatoid arthritis

CINCINNATI Researchers at Cincinnati Childrens have issued the first study showing that a protein normally involved in blood clotting (fibrin), also plays an important role in the inflammatory response and development of rheumatoid arthritis. Inflammatory joint disease appears to be driven by th...

New Actemra data shows significant benefit for patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis

The innovative new rheumatoid arthritis drug Actemra (tocilizumab) has been shown to significantly improve the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients who failed to achieve an adequate response to traditional disease modifying agents (DMARDs). Exciting new data from the TOWARD1...

Study reveals 2 genes linked to disabling arthritis

SEATTLE An international team of researchers led by a Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center geneticist has discovered two genes linked to a disabling form of arthritis called ankylosing spondylitis, a painful and progressive disease in which some or all of the spines vertebrae fuse together. The...

Breakthrough developments in rheumatoid arthritis reported

Peter K. Gregersen, MD, stares at x-rays of hands, searching out the telltale signs of inflamed joints and wrists from his research subjects with rheumatoid arthritis. With these clinical features at his side, he turns to the basic building blocks of life – the human genome – to figure out what ma...

Experimental gene therapy 'abolishes' arthritis pain and lessens joint damage

Early-stage research has found that a new gene therapy can nearly eliminate arthritis pain, and significantly reduce long-term damage to the affected joints, according to a study published today in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism. While the study was done in mice, they are the first genetical...

Cartilage discovery offers arthritis hope

Scientists have revealed the intricate structure of cartilage in what they hope will provide clues to how the crippling joint disease osteoarthritis might one day be treated. The disease, which affects more than five million people in the UK, is caused by the wear and tear of the smooth, hard car...

New engineered drug may offer prolonged arthritis relief

Researchers at Duke University have devised a new way to significantly prolong the effects of an anti-inflammatory drug, potentially making it useful for providing longer-lasting treatment for osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis. The modified drug, which would be injected directly i...

Science finds new fix for UV-damaged skin in arthritis treatment

For many women, accumulated sun exposure has already permanently damaged their skin cells, causing them to overproduce pigment that shows up as unsightly dark splotches and uneven skin tone over time. But new research indicates that glucosamine - a compound best known for treating arthritis ?can ac...

Synthetic Protein Eases Arthritis Symptoms in Mice

A lab-made version of a human protein alleviates symptoms of both acute and chronic arthritis in mice and could be the basis for a new arthritis drug for people, report scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)....

Results of world's first gene therapy trial for arthritis show approach safe, feasible

Gene therapy for arthritis and other non-terminal, debilitating conditions and diseases is both feasible and safe, report researchers who conducted the world's first such test on the approach in patients with advanced rheumatoid arthritis. The results, published in this week's online edition of the...

Enzyme's newly discovered role may make it target for arthritis treatment

Scientists have found a new role for a previously identified enzyme that may make it a target for anti-inflammatory treatments. The finding by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that an enzyme known as cathepsin G regulates the ability of immune cells know...

Disabling gene defuses rheumatoid arthritis in mice

Scientists studying mice have identified a gene that allows immune cells known as neutrophils to protect themselves from the inflammatory chemicals they secrete. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis showed that knocking the gene out in mice prevented the developme...

All-in-1 nanoparticle: A Swiss Army knife for nanomedicine

...wing gold nanoparticles have been used since ancient times in stained glass; more recently they are being developed for delivering drugs, for treating arthritis and for a type of medical imaging that uses infrared light. Gold also reradiates infrared heat and so could be used in medical therapies to cook nearb...

They are young and need the job: A second chance for dangerous T-cells

...practical interest. Deciphering these processes could lead to new therapeutic approaches for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatic arthritis and type-1 diabetes, which are triggered by autoreactive T-cells." Klein and his colleagues are working on a study into unexplained aspects of regu...

Aussie and Kiwi researchers make double MS genetic discovery

...essor Kilpatrick. "They also reveal a link between genetic susceptibility to MS and other autoimmune diseases including Type 1 diabetes, Rheumatoid arthritis and Graves' Disease and the also the potential involvement of Vitamin D metabolism in the risk of developing these diseases." "These results are li...

Jefferson receives $1.7 million grant to study stem cells in intervertebral discs of the spine

...cientists at Jefferson Medical College have received a five-year, $1.7 million National Institutes of Health grant funded by the National Institute of arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to study mechanisms regulating stem cell self-renewal and differentiation with the aim of regenerating diseased ...

Scientists discover new genetic immune disorder in children

...and dangerous inflammation. Now, researchers from the National Institute of arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institu... allwere treated with anakinra, a drug that is normally used for rheumatoid arthritis and is a synthetic form of human IL-1Ra. Although the patients were resista...

American Chemical Society's weekly PressPac -- May 27, 2009

...hair. Although acting like conventional detergents, they seem unlikely to irritate the stomach. In test tube experiments, microcapsule versions of the arthritis drug, indomethacin, dissolved up to five times faster than a regular version of the drug. Lab rats given the new microcapsule version absorbed almost ...

Is cherry juice a new 'sports drink?'

...r pain medications to reduce muscle pain and beyond. A growing body of research suggests cherries could affect inflammation related to heart disease, arthritis and may even help maintain muscle strength for those suffering from fibromyalgia (a common, chronic widespread pain disorder), according to a second s...

Limping rat provides sciatica insights

...tein involved in regulating the inflammatory response. Elevated levels of IL-17 have already been implicated in such autoimmune diseases as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma. "This finding suggests a possible role for immune system activation in contributing to symptoms of sciatica," said Shamji, now completi...

KINAXOs Cellular Target Profiling reveals mTOR as a new target of Celebrex

...oxib (Celebrex®, Pfizer). Celecoxib is a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory Cox-2 inhibitor approved for the treatment of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and acute pain. In addition, celecoxib’s anti-proliferative effect has earned it a place in numerous clinical trials against several malignancie...

Biomedical researchers invited to design experiments for the International Space Station

...facilitating access to our nation's life sciences laboratory in space," said Stephen I. Katz, M.D., Ph.D., director of the NIH's National Institute of arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and NIH liaison to NASA. Already, biomedical experiments conducted on the International Space Station have...

Fireflies and jellyfish help illuminate quest for cause of infertility

... Scientists are using the luminescent and florescent genes to illuminate cells that produce a hormone linked to conditions, which include rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. The technique will help scientists track the production of the hormone prolactin, which is crucial in ensuring supplies of breast milk i...

Stopping autoimmunity before it strikes

...systems," appears in the April 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology . Autoimmune diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes are caused when the immune system attacks the body's own cells. Normally, immune cells are prevented from attacking normal cells; howeve...

La Jolla Institute signs exclusive license agreement with Medimmune on major asthma discovery

...tions of TNF, the first member of the family to be discovered, with its receptors, is an approved treatment for several diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. It is therefore possible that blockade of other members of this family, such as OX40L, might benefit some patients wi...

Molecule that suppresses immune response under study in type 1 diabetes

...ethods to get rid of IDO and observe what happens. He'll also enhance IDO expression in the females by giving a drug commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis that the MCG team has learned can boost IDO expression. "The mouse has an endogenous mechanism; it's just defective," said Dr. Mellor. "If you have th...

Compounds could be new class of cancer drugs

...y in addition to studying the inhibitors in breast cancer models, they will explore how they work in cell systems that model brain tumors, rheumatoid arthritis and viral infections. ...