- Is one of the
most common disease conditions affecting humans.
- Afflicts one
in seven people, and one in every three families.
- Affects in
some form most people over 60 years of age.
- Causes painful
debilitation for over 35 million Americans.
PROGRESS
IN MEDICAL RESEARCH
Arthritis means
inflammation of the joint. However the term is used widely
to describe many different conditions that cause aching and
pain in joints and connective tissues throughout the body.
While arthritis rarely poses a threat to life, it often causes
disability. The cause of arthritis is not known but proper
treatments, therapies, and medications are increasingly effective.
There are over 100 forms of arthritis. The two most common
are osteoarthritis - usually associated with advanced age
and rheumatoid arthritis.
Some of the more
common types of arthritis are:
Rheumatoid
Arthritis: Often a severe, painful, even disabling disease
which attacks women three times more frequently than men.
Juvenile Rheumatoid
Arthritis: Arthritis and other forms of rheumatic disease
which occur in children under the age of 18.
Osteoarthritis:
A degenerative arthritis and the most common form; a slowly
progressive disease, it can cause extreme pain and disability
with age.
Systemic Lupus
Erythematosus: Affecting the joints and vital organs;
afflicting women more than men, and black women more than
white.
Gout: Probably
the most painful of the arthritic diseases and the most satisfactorily
treated; caused by a defect in body chemistry leading to heightened
uric acid levels and precipitation of urate crystals in joints.
Ankylosing
Spondylitis: A disease of the spine primarily afflicting
young men. The spine may become rigid and severe disability
is not uncommon.
How
has animal research helped people with arthritis?
Animal research
on arthritis and related diseases began 50 years ago when
scientists began studying the effects of bone deterioration
in the joints of dogs. Like humans, dogs have a natural tendency
to develop arthritis in old age. An animal the size of a dog
has also been very important for bone and joint scientists
in their development of knee and hip replacements. Research
with rodents has provided a great deal of information about,
and treatments for, rheumatoid arthritis.
Is
animal research on arthritis still necessary?
Animal research
continues to play a key role in the understanding and treating
of arthritic diseases. At the University of Michigan Medical
Center researchers are using mice to provide fundamental information
into the causes of arthritis, and for testing experi-mental
drugs. Along with Wayne State University, they are using mice
to produce antibodies as a means to improve our knowledge
of arthritic disease. Guinea pigs and rabbits are used to
test procedures on the joints for osteoarthritis. Research
with dogs continues to help develop improved joint replacements.
At Michigan State University investigators are using dogs
in surgical replacement techniques so that other dogs may
benefit from improved treatment.
What's
ahead for research on arthritis?
There remains
many unanswered questions about the mechanisms of arthritic
diseases and how to improve treatment. The future of research
on arthritis hinges on the continued use of animals for the
study of immune system disorders, which appear to be at the
root of arthritis and related diseases.
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