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Osteoarthritis caused by inflammatory processes, suggests study

Tuesday 15th November 2011

A new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that osteoarthritis may be caused by low-grade inflammatory processes over a long period of time, rather than simply lifetime wear and tear on joints.

The study showed that initial damage to joints begins a chain reaction of molecular events that leads the body's complement system to attack the affected joint, meaning that earlier treatment from people with a physiotherapy job could improve the condition.

Researchers made the discovery after comparing the large number of proteins present in the joint fluids of osteoarthritis patients with healthy people, leading to a connection between the "complement cascade" effect and the disease.

Dr William Robinson, the study's senior author, believes the findings could lead to a way to target the inflammatory processes that occur early on in the development of osteoarthritis.

"Right now we don't have anything to offer osteoarthritis patients to treat their underlying disease," he said.

"It would be incredible, for the one-third of humans over 60 who have it, to find a way to slow it down."

Posted by Megan Smith