New 'Microcapsules' Have the Potential To Repair Osteoarthritis Damage

As the most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis affects millions of people all around the world. It happens when the protective cartilage at the end of the bone wears down with time and age. Although the disease can damage any joint in a person’s body, it most often affects the hands, hips, knees and spine. This condition will gradually worsen with time and no cure currently exists. However, there have been some recent advances in treatment that could make a real difference in the overall quality of life a person has.

Symptoms Of Osteoarthritis

The symptoms of osteoarthritis often happen slowly and get worse with time and progression.

• Pain: There could be pain in the joints that could hurt during or after movement.
• Tenderness: Feelings of tenderness in the joint are possible, if light pressure is applied.
• Stiffness: A person may have stiff joints that are more noticeable when first waking up in the morning or after a period of being inactive or sedentary.
• Loss of flexibility: A person may not have full range of motion and could be limited on how the joint or joints will move.
• Grafting sensation: It’s possible a person may hear or feel a grafting sensation when using the joint.
• Bone spurs: Bone spurs are extra pieces of bone that feel like hard lumps and these can form around the affected joint.

Osteoarthritis: Causes

Osteoarthritis happens when cartilage at the ends of the bones in the joints gradually wears down and deteriorates. Cartilage is a firm, slippery type of tissue that aids in ease of joint movement. With osteoarthritis, the slippery surface of the joints wears down completely and it can cause bones to rub against one another.

Risk Factors You Should Know About

There are a number of risk factors associated with osteoarthritis and these include:

• Older age: A person’s risk of osteoarthritis increases with age.
• Obesity: When a person carries extra body weight it can contribute to the development of osteoarthritis. Being overweight or obese puts extra weight on joints in the knees and hips. Additionally, fatty tissue makes proteins that can result in harmful inflammation in and around the joints.
• Gender: Females are more likely than males to develop osteoarthritis, but exactly why it happens is unknown.
• Joint injuries: Injuries that occur during someone’s lifetime could increase the risks of osteoarthritis.
• Certain occupations: If a person’s job includes duties that place repetitive stress on the joints, it could lead to the development of osteoarthritis.
• Genetics: Some people have an inherited tendency towards the disease.
• Bone deformities: People who are born with malformed joints or defective cartilage can have a higher than average risk of the condition.
• Other diseases: Suffering from rheumatic diseases or diabetes could increase a person’s chances of developing osteoarthritis.

Diagnosis

When a person visits the doctor to be checked for osteoarthritis, there are a number of things that may be done. Your doctor could check your joints for inflammation, redness, and/or tenderness, as well as range of motion in the area. A physician may also wish to order some imaging scans and laboratory tests.

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Osteoarthritis: Treatment And Medications

While there is no cure for osteoarthritis, there are treatment options and medications that can help manage the symptoms, reduce the pain and improve joint movement. The disease can be helped by certain medications such as:

• Acetaminophen: Acetaminophen can reduce pain but not inflammation. It has been proven to be effective for those with osteoarthritis who experience mild to moderate discomfort. Taking more of the medication than recommended can result in liver damage, so caution must be exercised when using it.
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications: NSAIDS can reduce pain and inflammation. Over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug examples are ibuprofen and naproxen. Stronger NSAIDS are available by prescription from your medical doctor. These medications can cause stomach upset, bleeding problems, cardiovascular problems, liver and kidney damage, so it is important to take them exactly as prescribed.

Exercising and achieving a healthy body weight are the best ways of relieving pain and helping manage the symptoms of osteoarthritis. A physician may order physical therapy, occupational therapy, braces or shoe inserts as well.

New Research Points To 'Microcapsules'

There has been a new advent in research for treating the damage caused by osteoarthritis. A new “microcapsule” treatment option has been developed by the researchers at Queen Mary University of London. This treatment could reduce inflammation caused by the disease and reverse some of the damage it causes to the tissues.

A protein molecule called C-type natriuretic peptide or CNP, occurs naturally within the human body. This protein is known to reduce levels of inflammation and it helps in the repair of damaged tissue. However, CNP can’t be used to treat osteoarthritis in people, because it doesn’t target the damaged areas, even when it is directly injected into damaged cartilage. The reason why CNP is not effective at healing damaged cartilage is because it is easily broken down and cannot reach the damaged site.

The experiment was done on animal tissue, and it showed the microcapsules delivered CNP in a much more effective manner. The team believes injections of microcapsules could in the future be used to help heal the cartilage damage due to osteoarthritis. The injections could be delivered rather easily by a general practitioner in office.

Conclusion

A single prognosis for osteoarthritis is very difficult to establish because each person is different, as are the factors that influence the disease. It is also important to look at the specific joint involved, rather than lumping them all together to predict someone’s outcome. Symptoms may not be able to be predicted only based on X-rays, because some individuals have a lot of pain with only mild osteoarthritis showing up. Further investigation into the causes of joint pain will likely lead to improved treatment options.

See Also: Managing The Pain Of Rheumatoid Arthritis

The current treatment options for osteoarthritis are extremely limited, which is why it is very important for research to be done and advancements to be made. The disease is painful and debilitating and finding ways of alleviating the symptoms and improving the lives of those who suffer with the condition are needed, in order to improve their overall quality of life.