New Cannabis-like Drugs Could Block Pain Without Affecting Brain, Says Study

sea-maid submitted, created time 2 months 2 weeks (www.sciencedaily.com)

New research shows that CB2 receptors, a type of cannabis receptor, are present in the peripheral nervous system but not in the brain. The signficance? Now cannabinoid drugs that can be tweaked to affect only this receptor can be used for painkilling purposes without causing physical addiction or intoxication or any of the mild mental side effects know in recreational marijuana. Osteoarthritis in particular seems a likely place to apply this information.

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New MRI Scan Detects Early Arthritis

kavin submitted, created time 3 months 22 hours (www.webmd.com)

A new MRI test promises to detect osteoarthritis early, when treatments are most helpful.

The technique also detects spinal disc degeneration, report NYU researchers Alexej Jerschow, PhD, and Ravinder R. Regatte, PhD, at the 236th annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, held Aug. 17-21 in Philadelphia.

"Our methods have the potential of providing early warning signs for cartilage disorders like osteoarthritis, thus potentially avoiding surgery and physical therapy later on," Jerschow says in a news release

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Study: Finger Length Could Predict Arthritis

Sue Wu submitted, created time 10 months 3 weeks (www.foxnews.com)

Having a ring finger longer than an index finger nearly doubles the chance of developing osteoarthritis in the knees — and women are the most at risk — according to a new study.

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Women and arthritis sufferers have poorer short-term recovery from arthroscopic knee surgery

bianjie submitted, created time 1 year 4 months (www.eurekalert.org)

Over 600,000 arthroscopic knee procedures are performed each year. Factors such as age, obesity, and amount of tissue removed are known to be related to poorer long-term outcomes. New research identifies gender (being female) and having osteoarthritis as two factors predictive of poorer short-term outcomes after arthroscopic knee surgery.

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Biological markers in osteoarthritis

red monkey submitted, created time 1 year 5 months (www.nature.com)

Clinical and radiographic changes are currently used to diagnose osteoarthritis, but these changes occur late in the course of disease, and show poor sensitivity for monitoring progression. The use of biological markers of joint metabolism might potentially improve prediction of disease progression, as outlined in this article by Pierre D Delmas and Jean-Charles Rousseau.

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Experimental gene therapy 'abolishes' arthritis pain and lessens joint damage

alpha submitted, created time 1 year 6 months (www.biologynews.net)

Early-stage research has found that a new gene therapy can nearly eliminate arthritis pain, and significantly reduce long-term damage to the affected joints, according to a study published today in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism. While the study was done in mice, they are the first genetically engineered to develop osteoarthritis like humans, with the same genetic predisposition that makes some more likely to develop the disease, the authors said. If all goes well with a follow-up study currently underway, researchers will apply to the U.S

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A 60-Year-Old Woman Considering Acupuncture for Knee Pain

medal submitted, created time 1 year 7 months (jama.ama-assn.org)

"Mrs A, an active 60-year-old woman, has a history of degenerative osteoarthritis of her knee with pain that has progressed over the past 8 years. She has undergone arthroscopic surgery for a meniscal tear and has taken nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), glucosamine, and chondroitin sulfate occasionally, but generally does not like taking medications. She is open to other therapeutic approaches and wants to know if acupuncture can help the pain, improve function, and stop her condition from progressing

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Meta-analysis: Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip

badboy submitted, created time 1 year 7 months (www.annals.org)

"Previous meta-analyses described moderate to large benefits of chondroitin in patients with osteoarthritis. However, recent large-scale trials did not find evidence of an effect. "

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