What Can a Mouse Teach Us About Arthritis?
A team of researchers from Western University have made a startling discovery which could have a significant impact on millions of lives around the world. This discovery may very well lead to a more complete understanding of a common form of arthritis, which until now has been eluding even the most brilliant scientific minds.
The Second Most Common Form of Arthritis
The Arthritis Society estimates that the second most common form of arthritis following osteoarthritis is a form of the disease called “diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis” or DISH for short.
Ever heard of it before?
Anywhere between 6 and 12% of North Americans are affected by this disease, most of them being over the age of 50. DISH has been classified as a form of degenerative arthritis, similar to rheumatoid arthritis, and it is mainly characterized by these excessive mineral deposits which can form along the edges of the vertebrae in the patient’s back and neck.
The symptoms of this disease can vary depending on the individual in question, but it usually causes pain and stiffness in the spine. In some rare occasions, DISH can also cause damage to the spinal nerves and difficulty swallowing. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, the cause of DISH is unclear and scientists have yet to develop specific treatments for it.
What Can a Model Mouse Teach Us About DISH?
It seems incredible that this disease could be affecting so many people, and yet we still don’t know much about it. Well, this could all be about to change. This research team from Western University’s Bone and Joint Initiative worked together with Doo-Sup Choi (a researcher from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota) to identify the very first mouse model for diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis.
The results of their research can be viewed online in the latest edition of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. Utilizing this brand new model, scientists will be able to uncover the underlying mechanisms behind DISH and other related disorders. Indeed, this research could have dramatic implications for rheumatoid arthritis patients as well.
With an understanding of these baseline mechanisms, researchers will soon be able to test completely new treatments and therapies which have been designed to directly inhibit the development of DISH in human beings.
What Led to this Discovery?
One of the grad students who had been working under the supervision of pharmacologist James Hammond, the student’s name was Derek Bone, had been studying their lab mice. Now, these mice had been genetically modified so that they no longer produced a membrane protein which would transport adenosine.
While observing the lab mice, Derek noticed something rather peculiar about them. The mice were developing these abnormal mineral structures along their spines. Following up on the grad student’s astute observation, an interdisciplinary team was able to characterize the changes that were occurring in the backbones of these lab mice.
Based on their characterization, the team established that the spinal mineralization observed in the mice actually resembled that which occurred in human beings with DISH. Based on the principles of the scientific method, this would suggest that adenosine has a mighty big role to play in the development of abnormal mineralization in this form of arthritis.
Support from CAN and the Arthritis Society
This clinical study was funded through generous grants provided by the Canadian Arthritis Network (CAN) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Lead investigators for this study have been supported by a Network Scholar Award given to them by CAN and the Arthritis Society. Now, the medical community waits with baited breath as to what this discovery could mean for future clinical trials on rheumatoid arthritis and other related diseases.