| Show IS A CURE FOR ARTHRITIS NEAR? AGE 3 ful that 150000 such operations are now done yearly According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 90 percent of joint replacements still work fine 10 years later New “supermetals” (titanium and cobalt-chrom- e alloys) make artificial joints last even longer Ankles and wrists are still too complex for replacement so surgeons “fuse” them by removing the diseased tissues and joining the bones Cementless prostheses are being tested by Myron Spector PhD of Emory University in Atlanta and by others The surface of each prosthesis has tiny holes into which human bone grows forming a lifelong bond ” Physical therapies exercises — slow gradual movements of the diseased joint as far as possible — can preserve mobility and reduce pain New studies at the University of Michigan show that vigorous aero- bic exercise such as 1 riding a stationary ? bike reduces pain v and retards joint de-- 5 terioration in RA and some forms of OA Swimming in heat- DEBBIE Stimson Kemp of Bowdon Ga developed such severe juvenile arthritis that by 28 her and had been knees totally destroyed hips she by the disease Wheelchair-boun- d seemed destined never to walk again Four years ago Dr Eduardo Salvati of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City rewrote Debbie’s destiny when he replaced her hip and knee joints with artificial ones “I walked painlessly for the first time in my life!” says Debbie now 35 “Having my joints replaced gave me my life back!” Today Debbie cares for a home and two children even drives a car Debbie’s case is extreme but it typifies the striking advances researchers are making against arthritis a chronic disorder that inflames the joints of 37 million “Range-of-mo-tion- & -- Americans pling many of Tx j crip-- j its vie- - £ tims and causing all unrelenting pain There are more than 100 forms of arthritis Three major ones: Osteoarthritis or OA is the disease occurring most often in older people In OA the slippery cartilage between bones in the joints wears thin or breaks down The bone ends often develop spurs and grate against each other resulting in pain stiffness and knobby deformed joints Rheumatoid arthritis or RA can occur at any age In RA the immune system mistakenly attacks the tissues of the joints the cartilage breaks down causing inflammation pain and the eventual disintegration of the joint Gout results when the body overproduces or fails to rid itself of excess uric of certain foods C s acid a of the acid collect in joints (often of the foot) acting as an abrasive and causing sw'elling severe pain and extreme sensitivity In their quest for better treatments researchers have developed powerful new drugs and therapies for many forms of "wear-and-tea- ' r” rys-tal- ? Swimming in a heated pool and treating diseased joints with electric current (TENS therapy right) relieve pain without drugs Left: Hands deformed by arthritis ed As research advances even better drugs and therapies are expected arthritis They con- trol pain better promote freer movement and sometimes slow the course of the disease Drugs Two new drugs and piroxi-ca- mdometh-aci- n relieve pain and inflammation in moderate osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis more efficiently than aspirin the old standby “For very severe rheumatoid arthritis and certain other forms of arthritis we have even stronger new drugs — for example gold comsuch as pounds and the hydroxychloroquine” says Dr Alfred ls BY Steinberg of the National Institute of Arthritis and Mus- culoskeletal and Skin Diseases “And still in the ex- perimental stage are other drugs — methotrexate azathiopnne and cvclosporine-- — that suppress the immune system" Gout is now controlled by allopurinol w’hich suppresses production of uric acid and by a new family of drugs the uricosuncs which increase excretion of uric acid Surgery Replacement of ruined joints begun in the 1960s proved so success- - MORTON A HUNT pools provides some of the same benefits according to a study at the University of Missouri In Transcutanerelief Drugless pain or ous Electrical Nerve Stimulation TENS electrodes send measured pulses of current to the pain sites providing significant but temporary relief for up to 70 percent of users How? Some researchers think TENS causes the body to release natural opiates called endorphins others believe it interferes with the transmission of pain signals The cure — how soon? Hope for a cure for arthritis is coming into view as researchers learn more about its causes They already have discovered that osteoarthritis can be caused by faulty production of the enzymes that regulate cartilage replacement And they are unraveling what makes the immune system go awry to cause rheumatoid arthritis Says Dr John Decker of the NTH “Progress in RA research could lead to a cure in the near future And there’s much new gg hope for an OA cure as well” PAGE 8 DECEMBER 21 1986 PARADE MAGAZINE |
