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Is It True That Weather Affects Arthritis?

If you have ever relied on a family member with arthritis to predict an upcoming storm, you know there must be some kind of link between change in weather and joints. In this study from Brazil, the influence of air pressure, temperature, humidity, and moisture (precipitation) is evaluated on pain, joint stiffness, and function of the hands in patients with osteoarthritis (OA). These measures of weather are referred to as meteorological variables.They did the study including 32 patients with know...

Rethinking Osteoarthritis as Just a Wear-and-Tear Disease

Three things are clear from ongoing research: 1) obesity is on the rise in the United States, 2) more people are experiencing osteoarthritis (OA), and 3) there is a direct link between obesity and osteoarthritis.None of that may surprise you. What is new and notable is the fact that research is showing osteoarthritis (OA) is more than just a wear-and-tear disease. Excess load and weight is certainly a factor. But there may be some "hidden" (less obvious) variables that are just as important (if ...

Osteoarthritis: It's in the Genes

Researchers have noticed a very curious thing. People of European descent are the only ones who develop primary osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip. Those individuals who are of African or Asian lineage are much less likely to develop this condition. In fact, according to this article, primary osteoarthritis is completely absent in true Asian and African people. Only those adults who are a mixture of African (or Asian) and European develop primary OA.Primary osteoarthritis of the hip refers to loss o...

Tell me about hip-spine syndrome

Have you ever heard of something called the hip-spine syndrome? It's what the doctor says I have. Just wondered what you could tell me about it. Degenerative osteoarthritis of the hip along with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (DLSS) is referred to as the hip-spine syndrome. This is actually a fairly common problem in older adults. The term "degenerative" usually indicates it's something that happens over time as we age.The processes related to both conditions could easily be inter-related a...

Is my knee pain from arthritis not really the result of inflammation?

I read somewhere that chronic tennis elbow isn't really the result of inflammation. I'm wondering if the same thing is true for my knee pain from arthritis. Is it possible I don't really have active inflammation in that knee? Tennis elbow (also known as lateral epicondylitis) can be the result of inflammation of the tendon where it inserts to the bone. Overuse or repetitive motion does cause an acute inflammatory response. Chronic tennis elbow may not have an active inflammatory process but it i...

What Do We Know About Psoriatic Arthritis

You've probably seen the old commercial that talks about "the heartbreak of psoriasis." But it isn't just the skin lesions that create so much trouble for patients. Up to half of all patients with psoriasis develop disabling arthritis. And psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is chronic, inflammatory, and deforming.In this review article, surgeons from New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases bring us up-to-date on this condition. They discuss causes, symptoms, the diagnosis, and treatment. Complica...

New Information About Gout

If you are a gout sufferer or know someone who is...this information may be of interest to you. The data comes from many studies around the world on gout and was presented at a special meeting. The meeting was the 2011 Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, also known as EULAR.Gout is a disease that involves the build-up of uric acid in the body. Uric acid is a normal chemical in the blood that comes from the breakdown of other chemicals in the body tissues. Everyone has some...

Current Consensus on Tuberculosis in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Tuberculosis (also known as TB) is a bacterial infection affecting the lungs and other parts of the body. It was almost completely gone from the United States but is now on the rise again. And patients being treated for rheumatoid arthritis may be at increased risk.Before the development of anti-TB drugs in the late 1940s, TB was the leading cause of death in the United States. Drug therapy, along with improvements in public health and general living standards, resulted in a marked decline in th...

Good News for Anyone with Psoriatic Arthritis

This is the second article in a two-part series to bring us up-to-date on psoriatic arthritis (PsA). The first part focused on the diagnosis of this condition using biomarkers and advanced imaging studies. In this second half, the use of medications to treat the problem is highlighted.Psoriasis is a disease that most people think of as primarily a skin disease because the condition causes a persistent rash in various areas of the body. Psoriatic arthritis is a type of joint disease that occurs i...

Neck Instability from Rheumatoid Arthritis

What Happens To Patients with Neck Instability from Rheumatoid Arthritis? When you think of someone with severe inflammatory rheumatoid arthritis (RA) what picture comes to mind? Knobby, gnarled hands is the first thought that many people associate with RA. Although RA seems to target the small joints of the hands and feet, in fact, it can affect any joint in the body.In this report, orthopedic surgeons from the Kobe University School of Medicine in Japan discuss the natural history of rheumato...

Diagnosing Psoriatic Arthritis

Arthritis comes in many forms including one called psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Psoriasis is a disease that most people think of as primarily a skin disease because the condition causes a persistent rash in various areas of the body. Psoriatic arthritis is a type of joint disease that occurs in roughly seven percent of people who have psoriasis.Psoriatic arthritis affects people of all ages, but most get it between the ages of 30 and 50. Usually a patient has psoriasis (the skin rash) for many yea...

Osteoarthritis Is Not Just a Disease Caused By Wear and Tear

Are you a physician with a busy practice? Do you tend to medicate rather than educate patients with arthritis? Are you a patient with osteoarthritis? Would you rather be educated than medicated? If you fall into either of these categories, then the information in this article is for you.The authors of this article make it clear that their goal is to help physicians provide thorough but efficient management of osteoarthritis (OA). But today's busy consumers who happen to have osteoarthritis are a...

Best Strategy for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis

Do you suffer from the painful effects of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)? Or do you know someone who does -- perhaps a close friend, loved one, or family member? If you answered 'yes' to either of those questions, then you will be interested in this update on medications to treat this problem.Many new drugs are out on the market now specifically for rheumatoid arthritis. These medications have made it possible for many, many arthritis sufferers to experience remission.Remission refers to the absence ...

New Optimism in the Treatment of Lupus

Lupus, also known by its full name: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or SLE is a chronic and often debilitating condition. It's an autoimmune disease with many different signs and symptoms affecting all systems of the body. Autoimmune means the immune (defense) system starts to mistake your own cells as "foreign" and begins attacking them. The destruction that takes place can affect any part of the body but especially the skin, joints, organs, the nervous system, and the blood. The body produces ant...

Arthritis in Children: Who Gets It and Why?

Do you have a child who has been diagnosed with arthritis, or is suffering with symptoms of joint stiffness, swelling, pain? This article is one in a series of two, written by Pediatric Arthritic Specialists, outlining the diagnosis, signs and symptoms of JIA, or Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, which is a form of arthritis with an insidious onset in children, which can affect many systems of the body, and is best diagnosed early, for treatment of it's potentially damaging effects. Most people thi...

Treatment of Wrist Deformity Caused by Advanced Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the many diseases that fall under the umbrella of arthritis. It is one of the most outwardly obvious arthritis types because of the way it can deform the joints, often the fingers and wrists. Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease in which the joints become inflamed and swollen, and quite painful. Eventually, as the inflammation gets worse and the shape of the joint is changed, patients can find it more and more difficult to use the joint.

Exercise and Arthritis

If you have arthritis, you may think that exercise will increase your joint pain or speed the joint breakdown; however, regular exercise is actually beneficial for the person with arthritis. Often the joint pain and stiffness that are the primary symptoms of arthritis cause us to reduce our activity. Unfortunately, this actually will lead to an increase in symptoms and loss of normal function, and may even speed the breakdown within the joint. Regular exercise will actually decrease symptoms and...
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