Knee Replacement Surgery Incidence Soars In Those Over Age 50
Researchers in Finland found that annual cumulative incidences of partial and total knee arthroplasty, commonly known as knee replacement surgery, rose rapidly over a 27-year period among 30 to 59 year-olds in that country, with the greatest increase occurring in patients aged 50 to 59 years. According to the study published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), incidences were higher in women throughout the study period. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly disabling joint disease that according to a 2002 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) is the fourth leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide.
Link Between Ultra Short Telomeres And Osteoarthritis
Telomeres, the very ends of chromosomes, become shorter as we age. When a cell divides it first duplicates its DNA and, because the DNA replication machinery fails to get all the way to the end, with each successive cell division a little bit more is missed. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy shows that cells from osteoarthritic knees have abnormally shortened telomeres and that the percentage of cells with ultra short telomeres increases the closer to the damaged region within the joint.
Do Herbal Meds Help Osteoarthritis? Probably Not
A comprehensive review of herbal medicine products in the latest issue of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) shows that there is little conclusive evidence to justify the widespread use of herbal medicines to relieve the symptoms of the painful joint condition osteoarthritis. The products involved contain devil's claw and recently, the UK drug regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has approved several of these products under the Traditional Herbal Registrations scheme.