The most common degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis (OA) is marked by the breakdown of articular cartilage, which is the type of cartilage that lines the ends of most limb bones. It can afflict any joint—fingers, toes, wrists, ankles, elbows, shoulders, and the spine, as well as the weight-bearing knees and hips.

An Australian genetic scientist has discovered two new genes that cause a form of arthritis that affects 22,000 Australians.

Work done in part by researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston has led to the discovery of two genes that cause ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory and potentially disabling disease. The findings are published in the Oct. 21 online edition of Nature Genetics, a journal that emphasizes research on the genetic basis for common and complex diseases.

Research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Arthritis Research Campaign has identified two genes implicated in the disease ankylosing spondylitis, a common disease primarily causing back pain and progressive stiffness. The research, published online today in Nature Genetics, suggests that a treatment currently being trialled for Crohn's disease may also be applied to this disease.

An international team of researchers led by a Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center geneticist has discovered two genes linked to a disabling form of arthritis called ankylosing spondylitis, a painful and progressive disease in which some or all of the spine’s vertebrae fuse together.

It’s hard to think of scientists in laboratories working toward solutions for medical problems without mice or other laboratory animals, but animals’ roles in at least one major research laboratory may soon be minimal.

A study of 2,351 men and women 36 to 94 years old who did not have arthritis or knee replacement found that 12 percent had experienced knee buckling at least once in the past 3 months

An inquest into the death of a 63-year-old Sydney woman has been told the medication she was prescribed for her arthritis may have been a factor in her death.

Arthritis of the knee may be the first sign of a type of lung cancer that is hard to treat in heavy smokers, suggests research published ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

In an Editorial, to be published in the international journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage (www.intl.elsevierhealth.com), by Elsevier, a panel of arthritis research experts has recommended that coxibs and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) must remain a significant part of the tool kit used in treating osteoarthritis (OA).

Arthritis is common among elderly Americans, and as the population ages it is expected to increase. At the same time, disability is increasing in patients with arthritis and the racial/ethnic composition of the U.S. is changing; minority populations are forecasted to increase from 30.6 percent of the population in 2000 to 49.9 percent by 2050.

According to the U.S. Department of Census, the number of centenarians could cross the 4 million mark by 2050. Although approximately 40 percent of centenarians are functionally independent, they are among those at the highest risk for disabling arthritis and fractures due to osteoporosis.