PTH therapy can help in treatment of osteoarthritis
According to an early study presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research in Denver, an existing osteoporosis drug can be effective for preventing loss of cartilage due to osteoarthritis after a joint injury.
It is noteworthy to remember that the currently used and available drugs such as steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (e.g. Advil, Aleve) are good enough only for reducing the level of pain but do not address cartilage loss behind osteoarthritis that is believed to afflict more than 50 million Americans by 2020.
From News-Medical.Net:
Parathyroid hormone (PTH), known as teriparatide in drug form, has emerged as a major player in the maintenance and healing of bone, and the race is on to design new applications for it. Past studies have established that PTH prevents chondrocytes from undergoing maturation, and stimulates their proliferation, preserving larger pools of cartilage cells in the joint. Signaling molecules like PTH have their effect in the body by interacting with specifically shaped proteins on the cell surfaces called receptors. PTH docks into its receptors, like a ship coming into port, which changes the shape of the dock such that biochemical signals are sent.
The authors of the current study observed that chondrocytes within injured and degenerating cartilage have more PTH type 1 receptors on their surfaces. This makes them especially sensitive to the PTH signal that prevents harmful chondrocyte maturation into bone in the joint cartilage. Thus, PTH therapy should increase the cartilage supply exactly where cartilage loss is causing disease.
It was remarked by Randy Rosier, M.D., Ph.D., professor within the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at the University of Rochester Medical Center, that physicians are left clueless for brining back cartilage in patients who have lost the battle to osteoarthritis and this study’s results can help them treat patients with osteoarthritis in an effective manner.
Tags: Advil, Aleve, cartilage loss, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, osteoporosis drug, Steroids
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