Osteoarthritis a Result of Inflammation as Well as Wear and Tear
The findings offer hope that by targeting the inflammatory processes that occur early on in the development of osteoarthritis, well before it progresses to the point where symptoms appear, the condition might someday be preventable.
Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease, afflicting some 27 million people in the United States alone. It is characterized by breakdown of cartilage, most often in the knees, hips, fingers and spine. Drugs commonly used to treat osteoarthritis, such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, relieve pain but do not slow the disease’s progression.
It has long been known that osteoarthritic joint tissues host a heightened number of migratory inflammatory cells and of some of the substances these cells secrete, not nearly as much as in the case of rheumatoid arthritis, which is clearly an autoimmune disease, but enough to make the researchers wonder if inflammation is also a major player in osteoarthritis as well. The research team’s observation of increased numbers of certain specialized inflammatory proteins early in the progress of osteoarthritis, before it becomes symptomatic, suggested that inflammation might be a driver, rather than a secondary consequence, of the disease.
The study showed that, indeed, initial damage to the joint sets in motion a chain of molecular events that escalates into an attack upon the damaged joint by one of the body’s key defense systems against bacterial and viral infections, the so-called complement system. This sequence of events involves activation of a chain reaction called the “complement cascade,” and begins early in the development of osteoarthritis.
Reference for: Osteoarthritis a Result of Inflammation as Well as Wear and Tear
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