Dr. Tao Yang, an assistant professor at the Van Andel Research Institute (VARI), is striving to reveal the underlying causes of osteoarthritis. Interest in this research field was inspired by his grandfather. He saw his grandfather, an avid sports enthusiast, decline both physically and emotionally...
Repost from Rheumatology Advisor Fasinumab may improve pain and function in patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis (OA) who do not benefit from analgesics, according to study results published in Arthritis & Rheumatology. The study included 421 patients with moderate to severe knee or hip OA and a history of...
Epigenetics to put it simply is the study of biological mechanisms that turn our genes on and off. It addresses how environmental inputs impact gene activity. Altering gene activity controls when and how much protein a gene makes, which in turn controls a multitude of...
Dr. Rachel Miller obtained a bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering from Pennsylvania State University, continuing her postgraduate studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she completed her PhD under Dr. Alan Grodzinsky in Biological Engineering. Dr. Miller focused on developing several novel concepts to induce cartilage...
Brian Diekman, PhD is an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. He conducts his research at the Thurston Arthritis Research Center in the Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology department. His areas of speciality include Tissue-engineering, stem cells,...
For nearly two decades, researchers have been scouring the human genome for genes that promote osteoarthritis (OA) in an effort to find new targets for osteoarthritis treatments. Today, scientists suspect that OA results not from unique genes, but from “epigenetic” changes in gene expression. Epigenetics...
An estimated 30 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis (OA), the leading cause of chronic disability in older adults. Nearly half of all adults over the age of 65 have been affected by the development of osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease. OA creates a painful inflammatory response...
Knee injuries are painful, debilitating and extremely common. A sudden twist of the knee can tear the cartilage that cushions and stabilizes the joint. Knee injuries often predict the development of osteoarthritis (OA). Even when an injury is surgically repaired, damage to cartilage triggers a...
When osteoarthritis (OA) strikes, pain flashes to sensory receptors, unleashing tiny electrical pulses that race up the spinal cord to the brain. Neurons, or specialized nerve cells, release chemical messengers that deliver pain signals from arthritic joints to the sensory network. Now a new generation of...
New tissue engineering techniques may completely change how we treat osteoarthritis (OA). OA is a disabling disease that gradually destroys articular cartilage, which helps bones move smoothly and easily within joints. As the cartilage layer thins, bones rub against each other, causing swelling, stiffness and...