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posted by martyb on Friday January 24 2020, @11:49PM   Printer-friendly
from the normal-wear-and-tear-not-covered-by-warranty dept.

Research published in the journal Protein and Cell shows a combination of two experimental drugs reversing the effects of osteoarthritus in rats (as well as in human cartilage cell cultures).

"What's really exciting is that this is potentially a therapy that can be translated to the clinic quite easily," says Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, lead author and a professor in Salk's Gene Expression Laboratory. "We are excited to continue refining this promising combination therapy for human use."

Affecting 30 million adults, osteoarthritis is the most common joint disorder in the United States and its prevalence is expected to rise in coming years due to the aging population and increasing rate of obesity. The disease is caused by gradual changes to cartilage that cushions bones and joints. During aging and repetitive stress, molecules and genes in the cells of this articular cartilage change, eventually leading to the breakdown of the cartilage and the overgrowth of underlying bone, causing chronic pain and stiffness.

This could be welcome news indeed for the 630 Million people worldwide (15% of the population) that suffer from the condition, and whose only options now are pain relievers or joint replacement surgery.

Previous research had pinpointed two molecules, alpha-KLOTHO and TGF beta receptor 2 (TGFβR2), as potential drugs to treat osteoarthritis. αKLOTHO acts on the mesh of molecules surrounding articular cartilage cells, keeping this extra-cellular matrix from degrading. TGFβR2 acts more directly on cartilage cells, stimulating their proliferation and preventing their breakdown.

Individually, the two molecules only moderately curb osteoarthritis. However…

The researchers treated young, otherwise healthy rats with osteoarthritis with viral particles containing the DNA instructions for making [both] αKLOTHO and TGFβR2.

Six weeks after the treatment, rats that had received control particles had more severe osteoarthritis in their knees, with the disease progressing from stage 2 to stage 4. However, rats that had received particles containing αKLOTHO and TGFβR2 DNA showed recovery of their cartilage: the cartilage was thicker, fewer cells were dying, and actively proliferating cells were present. These animals' disease improved from stage 2 to stage 1, a mild form of osteoarthritis, and no negative side effects were observed.

"From the very first time we tested this drug combination on just a few animals, we saw a huge improvement," says Isabel Guillen-Guillen, the paper's co-first author. "We kept checking more animals and seeing the same encouraging results."

Research into different approaches to administering the molecules and also into whether they can be used preventatively is ongoing.

Journal Reference

Paloma Martinez-Redondo, Isabel Guillen-Guillen, Noah Davidsohn, Chao Wang, Javier Prieto, Masakazu Kurita, Fumiyuki Hatanaka, Cuiqing Zhong, Reyna Hernandez-Benitez, Tomoaki Hishida, Takashi Lezaki, Akihisa Sakamoto, Amy N. Nemeth, Yuriko Hishida, Concepcion Rodriguez Esteban, Kensaku Shojima, Ling Huang, Maxim Shokhirev, Estrella Nuñez-Delicado, Josep M. Campistol, Isabel Guillen-Vicente, Elena Rodriguez-Iñigo, Juan Manuel Lopez-Alcorocho, Marta Guillen-Vicente, George Church, Pradeep Reddy, Pedro Guillen-Garcia, Guang-Hui Liu, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte. αKLOTHO and sTGFβR2 treatment counteract the osteoarthritic phenotype developed in a rat model. Protein & Cell, 2020; DOI: 10.1007/s13238-019-00685-7


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @12:27AM (10 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @12:27AM (#948263)

    "...only options now are pain relievers or joint replacement surgery."

    That is untrue. There is also prayer.

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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday January 25 2020, @12:59AM

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday January 25 2020, @12:59AM (#948278) Homepage

    Jews have all the drugs, it's only a matter of how much money you're willing to pay for them to live. They have problems of their own, though. You give them organs and blood, they trade you in return the novel drugs they keep under lock and key. That's why its awesome to be Hillary Clinton working in Haiti. You can barter yourself to becoming the Wicked Witch of the West!

    Come now, my pretties!

  • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @01:19AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @01:19AM (#948286)

    They were only listing useful options.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @09:14AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @09:14AM (#948417)

      I find suicide to be extremely useful and effective. I've used it on many occasions myself, highly recommended!

      Sincerely,

      Hillary Clinton

  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @01:25AM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @01:25AM (#948288)

    One arthritic big toe, diagnosed by x-ray about 20 years ago, slowly getting worse and painfully limiting the distance I can walk. I got a lot of relief from a chiropractor last summer, he used a gadget that tapped all around the joint, kind of like rapping with a knuckle, slightly painful but no lasting bruises or anything. What felt like enlarged bone seems to have been very dense goo built up in that area. After about 8 weekly rounds, it has been better/smaller (shoes fit much better) for the last 6 months or so.

    The other thing that has helped me and several friends with arthritis pain is tart cherry juice. Sounds hokey, but for us it's clearly helpful. One friend is able to buy dried tart cherries and suck on them, that works as well. I believe this is well known in eastern Europe, one brand is Made in Turkey.

    Prayer hasn't done any thing for me.

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @01:36AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @01:36AM (#948299)

      High intake of antioxidant micronutrients, especially vitamin C, may reduce the risk of cartilage loss and disease progression in people with OA. We found no effect of antioxidant nutrients on incident OA. These preliminary findings warrant confirmation.

      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8630116 [nih.gov]

      May be worth a try. Haven't read much along these lines though.

    • (Score: 4, Funny) by Grishnakh on Saturday January 25 2020, @02:04AM

      by Grishnakh (2831) on Saturday January 25 2020, @02:04AM (#948313)

      Prayer hasn't done any thing for me.

      That's because you didn't have enough faith, and you didn't show that faith by giving lots of your money to a particular church. Of course, you have to make sure to give your money to the correct church, because only some of them have the correct interpretation of the religion.

      The other problem could be that you aren't rich enough. Remember, God gives financial blessings to those he loves the most [wikipedia.org], so rich people are rich because God loves them more. If you're poor, it's because you're doing something wrong and that's why God hates you.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by RamiK on Saturday January 25 2020, @03:10AM

      by RamiK (1813) on Saturday January 25 2020, @03:10AM (#948326)

      Prayer hasn't done any thing for me.

      Prayers are for the false gods. True deities like Lord Stomachus demand regular offerings or you'll be stricken with famine and disease.

      The other thing that has helped me and several friends with arthritis pain is tart cherry juice...

      Irregular offerings of sufficient value and in accords with the sacred scriptures may win you some boon but beware excess offerings will enrage Stomachus and shall bring about the dreaded bloated blight!

      Praise Stomachus!

      --
      compiling...
    • (Score: 2) by sonamchauhan on Saturday January 25 2020, @04:51AM

      by sonamchauhan (6546) Subscriber Badge on Saturday January 25 2020, @04:51AM (#948357)
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @01:28AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @01:28AM (#948289)

    That is untrue. There is also prayer
    You left out assholes on the internet being snarky.

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @05:44AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @05:44AM (#948370)

    Sorry, that's still untrue. They don't give anyone pain relievers anymore. After all, it's well-known that if you give people with chronic pain more than three days worth of a cheap substance that makes their existence more bearable, you'll soon have all those pain-riddled folks dragging themselves into alleys to shoot up heroin.

    Well, they will still let you take over-the-counter stuff, which has about as much impact as a fly's fart in a firestorm.