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Arthritis

Definition of Arthritis

Arthritis is the inflammation of a joint, usually accompanied by pain, swelling, and stiffness, and resulting from infection, trauma, degenerative changes, metabolic disturbances, or other causes. It occurs in various forms, such as bacterial arthritis, osteoarthritis, or rheumatoid arthritis.

Chondroitin No Help for Arthritis Pain April 16, 2007 -- Chondroitin, a dietary supplement, works no better than a sugar pill, analysis of clinical data suggests. In the U.S., chondroitin is almost always combined with glucosamine, another supplement. Annual U.S. sales of the chondroitin/glucosamine combination were $810 million in 2005, according to figures cited by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), a supplement industry trade group. And sales "continue to grow at a phenomenal pace," Andrew Shao, PhD, the CRN's vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs, tells WebMD. Shao says only omega-3 supplements sell faster than chondroitin-based supplements. "Sales continue to grow. This is presumably because consumers are finding a benefit," Shao says. That benefit appears to be an illusion, suggests Peter Juni, MD, head of clinical epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Bern in Switzerland. David T. Felson, MD, MPH, professor of medicine and epidemiology at Boston University, uses stronger la Read the Article
As Boomers Age, Arthritis Costs Rise April 27, 2007 -- Arthritis medical costs in the U.S. topped $80 billion in 2003, up from nearly $65 billion in 1997. Edward Yelin, PhD, and colleagues report that news in Arthritis & Rheumatism. Yelin works at the University of California, San Francisco. Yelin's team reviewed medical cost data on 22,000 U.S. adults in 1997 and 23,000 U.S. adults in 2003. In 1997, nearly 37 million people in the U.S. had arthritis. That figure rose to 46 million people in 2003, many of whom are baby boomers, note Yelin and colleagues. The rise in arthritis medical costs included a near doubling of prescription drug costs, which rose from about $33 billion in 1997 to roughly $75 billion in 2003. Average arthritis prescription costs per person were $141 in 1997 and $338 in 2003, the study shows. Inpatient treatment costs dropped during the same period, the study shows. In 1997, average inpatient costs per arthritis patient totaled $508, dropping to $352 per person in 2003. Yelin and colleagues for Read the Article
CDC Predicts Arthritis Boom May 3, 2007 -- As America ages, the number of U.S. arthritis patients will rise from about 46 million people today to 67 million in 2030, the CDC predicts. Of those 67 million people with arthritis in 2030, arthritis will limit usual activities for 25 million people (37%), according to the CDC's projections. Those estimates are based on a 2005 national survey of more than 326,000 U.S. adults who were asked if a doctor had ever diagnosed them with some form of arthritis and if arthritis limited their usual activities. The CDC projected the survey's results onto U.S. Census predictions for 2030. Obesity could make arthritis even more common, and new treatments might lower arthritis-related disability, but the CDC didn't include those possibilities in its projections. The CDC says arthritis will likely rise nationwide by 2030 except in North Dakota, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C., where the population is expected to decline. Fourteen states will have more than a 30% increase in Read the Article
Understanding Arthritis Painkillers When you have arthritis pain, you need relief. But with so many warnings in the news about painkillers, it's hard to know the best choice. Many medications that ease arthritis pain have the potential for health risks, including increased risk for heart attack, stomach problems, or infections. Read the Article
Does Running Cause Arthritis? Even ardent runners wonder if all that pounding won't eventually harm our knees, hips, or back. My 85-year-old Aunt Marian thinks it's pretty cool that I'm a runner. Only problem: She wants me to give it up. The way she sees things, I'm doing fine now, but trouble looms. A few years down the road, I'll probably need a wheelchair. All that pounding and wear and tear; it can't do a body any good. Marian's got her share of aches and pains, and loving auntie that she is, she doesn't want me to end up in even worse shape. I bet you've got an Aunt Marian in your life, too--a family member, or friend, or coworker who's always tsk-tsking the toll running is taking on your knees, hips, and back. You might even be worried yourself. We all know a few onetime runners forced to become swimmers, cyclists, or mall walkers. We wonder: Does the same fate await us? The logic behind the wear-and-tear scenario can seem convincing. After all, your car eventually breaks down, even if it's a Volvo. Same Read the Article
Arthritis Hinders Work for Many Oct. 12, 2007 -- The CDC reports that roughly a quarter to a half of U.S. adults of working age with arthritis say their arthritis affects their work. For the first time, the CDC has state-by-state statistics on the percentage of adults of working age (18-64) with arthritis-related work limitations. Data came from a 2003 CDC survey of about 350,000 U.S. adults. Among all adults of working age, the prevalence of those reporting arthritis-related work limitations ranged from 3.4% in Hawaii to 15% in Kentucky. Participants were asked if they had ever been diagnosed by a doctor or other health professional with some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia. Among those who answered yes to that question, the prevalence of those reporting arthritis-related work limitations ranged from 25.1% in Nevada to 51.3% in Kentucky. Nearly 46 million U.S. adults have arthritis, according to background information from the CDC. Here's how the states, territories, and Read the Article
Botox May Ease Arthritis Shoulder Pain Nov. 9, 2007 -- Researchers today reported that Botox shots may ease arthritis-related joint pain. They studied 43 people with moderate, long-lasting shoulder pain caused by osteoarthritis. The patients had already tried other drug treatments for their chronic shoulder pain and weren't candidates for shoulder surgery. They got one injection to their painful shoulder joint. For half of the patients, the shot included Botox and the pain drug lidocaine. For the other patients, the shot contained salt water and lidocaine. About a month later, the patients rated their shoulder pain. Those who had gotten Botox and lidocaine reported less pain than those who had gotten salt water and lidocaine. "These findings are very promising," write the researchers, who included Jasvinder Singh, MBBS, MPH, of the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, University of Minnesota, and Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. Why would Botox ease shoulder pain? Botox contains a tiny dose of botulinum toxin type A, which m Read the Article
Hip and Knee Replacements on the Rise Thinking about getting a new knee or a new hip next year? You're not alone. For baby boomers, it seems that joint replacements are as prevalent as iPods are for teenagers. About 500,000 knee replacements and more than 175,000 hip replacements are performed annually, and those numbers are on the rise. In fact, hip replacements are expected to increase 174% in the next 20 years, and knee replacements will rise even more -- 673%, according to a study presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' 2006 annual meeting. What's behind the growing demand for new joints? Blame it on the lifestyle of the baby boom generation, says Mathias Bostrom, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery, where total knee replacements were pioneered. "They're not willing to be sedentary or change their lifestyle," Bostrom tells WebMD. "Their joints are beat up and they're living longer, and they want joints that let them do the things they're used to doing." This also Read the Article
Beyond Arthritis: Hip and Knee Replacements for Women If your mother or grandmother had a knee or hip replacement, the odds are good she was in her late 60s or 70s when she opted for the surgery, and it was a "last resort" decision -- either get a new knee or start using a cane or a wheelchair. That's not today's joint replacement surgery. With the baby boom generation hitting their 60s -- the age at which joints start to hurt and ultimately give out -- more and more people are seeking knee and hip replacements to maintain their active lifestyle.Â Joint Replacements to Maintain Quality of Life "It used to be about doing the things you needed to do -- literally, being able to walk," says David Mayman, MD, clinical co-director of the computer-assisted surgery center at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery. The hospital is world-renowned for orthopedic surgery and pioneered the first total knee replacement. "Now, patients are coming to see us saying, 'I can't do the things I want to do. I can't play golf or tennis anymore.' We're seein Read the Article
Study Reveals How Common Painkillers Fight Cancer For years, experts have noted that people who take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain relief also lower their risk for a variety of cancers. Now, scientists believe they know why that happens. New research shows that NSAIDs -- which include aspirin, ibuprofen, Aleve and Celebrex -- boost the level of a cellular molecule that causes malignant cells to die off. The finding "opens up our understanding of how anti-inflammatory drugs are effective against cancer cells. Read the Article
FDA OKs Celebrex for Kids With Arthritis The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Friday gave the green light to Celebrex for use in kids older than two as a treatment for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. The agency's action followed an advisory panel recommendation just over two weeks ago, which found that the benefits of the painkiller for children outweighed the shortage of proof on its safety. Read the Article
Evidence Shows Fibromyalgia Pain Is Real: Experts The pain of fibromyalgia is real, and doctors need to take patients' complaints seriously, concludes a review paper by University of Michigan Health System doctors. "It is time for us to move past the rhetoric about whether these conditions are real, and take these patients seriously as we endeavor to learn more about the causes and most effective treatments for these disorders," Richard E. Harris, research investigator in the division of rheumatology, department of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School and a researcher at the U-M Health System's Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, said in a prepared statement. Read the Article
Alcohol May Slow Rheumatoid Arthritis A copious dose of alcohol reduced the risk that mice would develop rheumatoid arthritis, Swedish researchers report. That doesn't mean humans should turn to the bottle to stave off the painful joint disease, however. Read the Article
Health Highlights: Dec. 19, 2006 Survey Finds High Satisfaction With Medicare Drug Benefit President Bush Signs Three Health-Related Bills Skin Cancer Tumor Removed From Laura Bush Vaccine Kills Malaria Parasite in Mosquitoes FDA Probing Brain Infection Deaths of Lupus Patients Taking Rituxan Norovirus Suspected in Olive Garden Outbreak Read the Article
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