Arthritis Blog

I am sure that you have not forgotten the two American scientists Andrew Fire, PhD, and Craig Mello, PhD who bagged last year’s Nobel Prize for their contribution in physiology or medicine. More interesting is the fact that this prize brought joy not only to both these scientists but to many arthritis patients all round the world as well. The development made by these two researchers for providing relief to arthritis patients was really commendable.

As we know that various forms of arthritis are based on important genetic component and in such situation the work of Andrew Fire and Mello, which focused mainly on the concept that how the activity of our genes are controlled was really commendable as it would help researchers understanding the root causes and mechanisms of arthritis and inflammation.

Moreover, I think that the guiding star that has been pointed out by the joint efforts of both Andrew Fire and Mello would further help scientists in digging out more concrete solutions to fight inflammatory health problems like arthritis.

Image credit: Aota

Via: Arthritis

A mother of a newborn may know well, why and when to stop her child breastfeed-the nurse and the doctors nay have given her with all reasons and consequence. True, there is nothing good a food for a child then his mother’s milk.

This health suggestion for a child may work good for a woman as well, especially if she ever found to be developing rheumatoid arthritis!

Breast feeding for as long a period as thirteen months or more can eventually reduce a mother’s risk of developing the painful disease.

Explaining the study, lead researcher Dr Mitra Keshavarz, of Malmö Hospital University, Sweden, said

Whilst other studies suggest that hormonal factors play a part in the development of RA, and we know that pregnancy can result in an improvement in RA symptoms, we wanted to investigate the long term effect of breast-feeding. This study specifically highlights the potential of naturally-induced hormones in protecting individuals from developing RA in the future. Furthermore, it adds to the growing body of evidence in favour of breast feeding and its positive health implications — this time demonstrating its protective benefits for the mother.

Presented at the EULAR 2007 — the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Barcelona, Spain - the study provides hope for would-be-mothers from developing Rheumatoid Arthritis risks by feeding their babies for a period of at least 13 months.

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There are several factors that contribute to arthritis of the ankle joint. For example, ankle joint arthritis can be a result of injury in the ankle joint. Such an injury may include cartilage damage due to a fracture in the ankle. Ankle injury may give birth to ‘osteonecrosis’- a condition in which blood supply to the bones is temporarily or permanently restricted. As a result, the bone tissues stop functioning, and thus lead to bone collapse. Patients suffering with rheumatoid arthritis are also susceptible to ankle arthritis. Cartilage cells are damaged when there is an infection in the joint. This can be irreversible.

The effect of genetics as far as ankle arthritis is concerned, has not been established yet. However, surveys show that some people have comparatively weaker joints. Obesity can be a major cause of ankle arthritis. Overweight people tend to develop arthritis as their ankles, knees and other joints face more pressure due to extra weight.

Understanding the symptoms of ankle arthritis is important. Joint pain, stiffness of the ankle, swelling, and deformity of the joint are some of the most common symptoms of ankle arthritis. A thorough examination and X-ray can easily diagnose ankle arthritis.
Ankle arthritis can be treated through a number of ways such as changing footwear and using underfloor heating systems. If conditions get worse, anti-inflammatory medications and surgery can be used. Warm floors can help alleviate the symptoms of arthritic ankle pain. Under-tile heating systems ensure that your head and feet are subjected to the same temperature- a major limitation of conventional heating systems.

Underfloor heaters are available in different forms for different surfaces. If you are suffering with arthritic ankle pain, you should try installing an underfloor heating system. The idea is to keep the floors of your home warm, so that when you walk, your feet feel relaxed.

Osteoarthritis is a problem that usually occurs at old age. According to an expert people can delay osteoarthritis for a long time if they take care of themselves, especially at their young age.

Dr. Jason Theodosakis, a specialist in sports and preventive medicine, and an assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, said in a statement:

Osteoarthritis is something people should think about preventing, or at least delaying, when they’re still in their 30’s and 40’s, or even younger.

Most of the people are not aware of arthritis when it began at their young age. Osteoarthritis cases are on rise, and are mainly due to lack of awareness among people when it actually began.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It causes pain, swelling and reduced motion in your joints. It can occur in any joint, but usually it affects your hands, knees, hips or spine. Osteoarthritis breaks down the cartilage in your joints. Cartilage is the slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones in a joint. Healthy cartilage absorbs the shock of movement. When you lose cartilage, your bones rub together. Over time, this rubbing can permanently damage the joint. Factors that may cause osteoarthritis include - because of overweight, old age, and injuring a joint.

It is placed at top position when considering pain in old people. It is also considered to be young guy’s disease, too. So don’t take it normally because it is very serious problem that could prevent you from leading normal life. When people are between ages 30-40, and above, their joints generally feel good. And they don’t ever think that arthritis could even happen to them. But one should start thinking of this and take care when it comes to arthritis.

One very common and early sign of arthritis: If a person holds his leg in front of him and raises his foot, and if he feels a crunching in his knee, than beware osteoarthritis has already begun.

One more sign that arthritis is developing in a person, is stiffness. This usually occurs in the morning and suddenly goes away. And after this one feel good through out the day. The stiffness is a signal that arthritis is already there.

And one earlier sign beside these two is — slight aching deep in a joint. In earlier stages, it goes away but, this sign is enough to prove that arthritis is developing and it should be examined by the physician.

Few tips that young guys can take to prevent arthritis:

1. First of all don’t gain weight or if you are overweight than shed some pounds to avoid arthritis. Being overweight you put strain on your joints.

2. Always do few exercises, taking care of your joints. One can do low-impact biking, swimming, and along with this some yoga, in addition to this walking and it should not be fast, and weightlifting, as long as you are comfortable with this and don’t take stress. While walking always wear comfortable shoes, and one should try to walk on flat surfaces.

3. One should always guard their biomechanics. How one can lift and carry things, or do physical works, like playing sports gardening, household jobs can create a big difference to the health of joints. The back is the most important part of human body and it can be strained due to improper body movements, and mostly all the joints could be damaged by the poor biomechanics.

4. Always try to prevent injuries and if you got injured, a better treatment is required. Insufficient care and treatment of these types of injuries can really cause arthritis problem.

5. People should take few supplements to avoid this problem. Duo — glucosamine and chondroitin show proofs of helping cartilage avoid deterioration, at least to some aspects. And this step is very useful and important step. There are also two new supplements that could also help out: A.S.U (unsaponifiable part of avocado and soybean), and hyaluronic acid.

One could sort out this problem by just being active.

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Arthritis patients, using dietary supplement chondroitin to relieve joint pain may be using it in vain because it is no better than a placebo for reducing pain.

Study, conducted by the Swiss researchers that published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, came out promulgating this fact after reviewing data from 20 clinical trials, which tracked more than 3,846 patients. During the course of study, experts found no evidence, showing chondroitin effective against osteoarthritis. This finding stands head to head to the assumption, under whose impel chondroitin is considered quite effective against osteoarthritis. Chondroitin is generally combined with glucosamine, which is also a supplement.

Interestingly, experts found no side effects in using this combination (chondroitin/glucosamine), therefore, patients who feel better after using this supplement could go on using it. Unveiling similar opinion, Dr. David Felson who is an osteoarthritis researcher at Boston University said:

If patients say they benefit from chondroitin, I see no harm in encouraging them to continue taking it.

Well, this finding can be good for patients who have been spending on this combination, despite the fact that it doesn’t help relieving pain but this revelation is really a bad one, especially for the producers of chondroitin/glucosamine combination, since it may hit their business hard, which is spiraling higher and higher as according to figures cited by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), annual sales of the chondroitin/glucosamine combination were $810 million just in the year of 2005. According to experts, the demand for the chondroitin component of this pill alone constitutes a $1 billion-per-year market in the United States. Commenting on this spiraling business of combination (chondroitin/glucosamine) Andrew Shao, PhD, the CRN’s vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs remarks:

Sales continue to grow at a phenomenal pace.

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Via: LA Times

For sufferers of arthritis, it can be easy to avoid exercise and other physically stressful activities in order to shield one’s self from the potential pain and inflammation involved. Yet, at the same time, doctors encourage arthritis sufferers to exercise in order to maintain joint flexibility and range of motion. The answer, for a lot people, is gardening. Here are some tips for arthritis sufferers on how to garden in a low-impact way that allows you to get the essential exercise, without risking unnecessary inflammation of muscles and joints.

Check with your doctor. First and foremost, get advice from your doctor. Take this list down and check as to whether the severity of your condition will limit you from doing any of the following activities.

Pick low maintenance plants. Choose plants that are low-maintenance and require less care, such as perennials instead of annuals, or get some wildflower seed.

Use warm, padded clothing. Wear warm gardening gloves to protect your hands from cold temperatures, and warm clothes to protect your joints. Also, you can buy a pair of gardening pants, which have extra padding around the knees, for greater protection while kneeling and warmth for obvious reasons.

Lift correctly. Always lift with the knees, not with the back.

Work at the best time for you. If you are stiff in the mornings, then make the afternoons your time for gardening and the opposite if you’re stiff in the evenings.

Mix it up. Don’t work in the same position for extended amounts of time. Set a maximum of 30 minutes for any given task, and come back to it later if the time wasn’t long enough to complete it.

Weed when wet. Once upon a time it was thought the rain followed the plough. Your weeding should follow the rain (or the sprinkler), as the looseness of the soil makes the weeds much easier to uproot.

Ask for help. With extra strenuous activities, don’t be afraid to ask for help from neighbors, family or friends. Pride isn’t worth the pain it’ll give you.

Vitamin A, also retinal is popularly known and used to keep skin healthy, and claims of it in beauty product is a commonplace thing.

Besides, helping to keep your system free from toxins, which otherwise cause damage to your skin, a derivative of Vitamin A — retinoic acid — is found to be capable of fighting some serious and painful diseases like autoimmune, colitis or rheumatoid arthritis.

So, while improving night vision, you can well keep those inflammatory risks at bay using the same vitamin dosage. What is needed is manipulation of the amount of the retinoic acid.

In a prepared statement, research leader Hilde Cheroutre said,

We found that you can control inflammation in a living animal with retinoic acid or you can treat cells with retinoic acid in a test tube and transfer them to the organism to suppress inflammation.

Though such results are seen only in mice, the effects of it are yet to be seen in humans.

And, once successful, it may lead to, not just new treatments for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, but also help prevent the immune system from attacking tissue grafts.

Ah! So, now you can keep those inflamatory diseases at bay, while boosting your skin’s health and your beauty.

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Grandmothers could avoid arthritis if they start exercising early. Elderly people are advised to exercise to keep fit and also to keep the muscles flexible. The latest Australian study found that older women who exercised more have better chances of preventing the onset of arthritis.

As many as 1 in 3 adults in the United States currently suffer from chronic joint symptoms or arthritis. More women suffer from arthritis when compared to men of the same age, and the risk increases greatly with age.
The study was conducted by researchers at University of Queensland, Australia on women in their 70’s who reported symptoms of arthritis and the amount of time they spent exercising. It was found that the women who exercised 75 minutes a week reported fewer symptoms of arthritis than those who did less, while women who were active at least 2 1/2 hours weekly had even less pain in the three years that followed.

Maybe exercise makes you lose weight and the latter benefits the joints. Maybe exercise causes pain sensing receptors to become less sensitive so one feels less pain

says Dr. John Hardin, chief scientific officer at the Atlanta-based Arthritis Foundation.

This however does not mean they should be going over-board with exercising. Even moderate exercise like walking, yoga and swimming for fifteen minutes a day could make a significant difference.

This should be a wake up call to all grandmothers reading this to get off the couch and get moving if they don’t want to say OUCH!

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Yes, I’m on a high now, especially, with these new studies luring me to be more tipsy. This time a new study has come out showing the positive effect of alcohol consumption. According to this new study, moderate alcohol consumption can protect you against some types of arthritis. However, still this fact cannot be claimed with full confidence because this fact has been exhibited from a preliminary that studied the effect of alcohol on mice.

During this study, it was found that mice that drank diluted ethanol, their chances of developing autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis reduced to 40% when compared to the mice provided with just water.

However, researchers are finding it difficult to come out with firm statement over these findings because they are not very confident about their findings and that is the reason why they still want to confirm these results with the help of further studies. Still, it is very difficult to give an opinion on it but one thing can certainly be said that results that have come out by now are quite interesting. Moreover, these results have raised a new hope that alcohol that we merely drink for intoxication would also help us staving off arthritis. However, this possibility can also not be ignored because people who are fond of alcohol consumption may increase their alcohol intake just by using the results of this study and if this happens then result would really be bad.

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Via: News Scientist