StemCell Therapy

Gout is a type of arthritis in which small crystals form inside and around the joints. It causes sudden attacks of severe pain and swelling.

However, pseudogout is a form of arthritis that causes pain, stiffness, tenderness, redness, warmth and swelling in one or more of your joints - commonly the knee or wrist but it can include the hips, shoulders and ankles.

What causes pseudo gout?

The condition occurs as a result of the abnormal formation of calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystals in the cartilage which is followed by the release of crystals in to the joint fluid.

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Arthritis Research UK said: When CPP crystals shed into the joint cavity this is called acute calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) arthritis.

The crystals cause inflammation in the lining of the joint, resulting in pain and swelling in the joint.

Symptoms

Symptoms of pseudo gout are similar to gout, and are also similar to those of rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.

The symptoms can include swollen joints which are warm to the touch, red or purple skin around the joint or affected area, tender skin - which can cause extreme pain if it is touched and sudden intense joint pain.

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Who is affected?

Arthritis Research UK said: Acute CPP crystal arthritis usually affects people in late middle-age or the elderly, and its rare if youre under the age of 60.

Men and women are equally affected. An attack of acute CPP crystal arthritis can happen in a joint thats already affected by osteoarthritis.

Attacks of pseudo gout can last between five days and up to two weeks unless it is treated.

Treatment

The disease, unlike gout, is not linked to diet.

Gout is caused by too much uric acid or your kidneys don't filter enough out, it can build up and cause tiny sharp crystals to form in and around joints. These crystals can cause the joint to become inflamed (red and swollen) and painful.

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Pseudogout can be treated with drugs - non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - such as ibuprofen.

Doctors can also take fluid out of the joints to treat the disease.

This process is called aspiration and can reduce the high pressure in a joint which causes the pain.

Arthritis Research UK recommend people get the joint and muscles moving following an attack of pseudo gout and helps tissue return to normal.

Read more here:
Painful joints could indicate THIS form of arthritis - similar to gout - Express.co.uk

Sir David backing arthritis help campaign

SOUTHEND West MP, Sir David Amess, has called on the Government to provide more support for workers with arthritis to help close the arthritis employment gap.

According to Arthritis Research UK, only 60 per cent of working age people with a musculoskeletal condition are in work, compared to 80 per cent among those without a health condition or a disability.

Now, following the Governments Improving Lives consultation on employment support for disabled people, Sir David is calling on the Government to ensure that people with arthritis have the support to stay at work for longer:.

Sir David said: Its clear how enormous the impact of arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions is on our local communities. 30,251 residents are living with back pain, a leading cause of sickness absence, in Southend right now 17.3 per cent of local people.

The ability to work is something that we often take for granted, but Ive learnt that for those living with arthritis this can be difficult. However, with the right support and flexibility many people are able to work.

Thats why Im supporting Arthritis Research UKs Work Matters to Me campaign.

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Sir David backing arthritis help campaign - Echo

THE MP for Keighley has supported a campaign to help people who have arthritis return to or stay in employment.

Kris Hopkins attended a reception in Westminster to find out more about arthritis and about Arthritis Research UKs Work Matters to Me initiative.

The charity has argued that what it calls the "Arthritis employment gap" is considerable, with the employment rate amongst people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions 20 per cent lower than amongst people with no condition or disability.

Mr Hopkins said: The ability to work is something that can be taken for granted but, for people living with arthritis, it can often be a challenge.

Arthritis Research UK advised me that, across Bradford District, 84,273 people suffer from back pain, which is 16.06 per cent of the resident population.

Nationally, back pain costs the economy an estimated 10 billion each year, a figure which jumps to 25 billion when you include osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

I commend Arthritis Research UK on their campaign, and for placing the vital important issues it raises on the agenda.

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Keighley's MP briefed on campaign to help people with arthritis remain in employment - Bradford Telegraph and Argus

Cellular Biomedicine Group Awarded $2.29 Million Grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to Fund AlloJoin Allogeneic Stem Cell Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) in the U.S.

SHANGHAI, China and CUPERTINO, Calif., Feb. 27, 2017 -- Cellular Biomedicine Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CBMG)(CBMG or the Company), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm engaged in the development of effective immunotherapies for cancer and stem cell therapies for degenerative diseases, announced today that the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), California's stem cell agency, has awarded the Company $2.29 million to support pre-clinical studies of AlloJoinTM, CBMGs Off-the-Shelf Allogeneic Human Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis in the United States.

While CBMG recently commenced two Phase I human clinical trials in China using CAR-T to treat relapsed/refractory CD19+ B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and Refractory Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) as well as an ongoing Phase I trial in China for AlloJoinTM in Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA), this latest announcement represents CBMGs initial entrance into the United States for its off-the-shelf allogeneic stem cell candidate AlloJoinTM.

The $2.29 million was granted under the CIRM 2.0 program, a comprehensive collaborative initiative designed to accelerate the development of stem cell-based treatments for people with unmet medical needs. After the award, CIRM will be a more active partner with its recipients to further increase the likelihood of clinical success and help advance a pre-clinical applicants research along a funding pipeline towards clinical trials. CBMGs KOA pre-clinical program is considered late-stage, and therefore it meets CIRM 2.0s intent to accelerate support for clinical stage development for identified candidates of stem cell treatments that demonstrate scientific excellence.

"We are deeply appreciative to CIRM for their support and validation of the therapeutic potential of our KOA therapy, said Tony (Bizuo) Liu, Chief Executive Officer of CBMG. We thank Dr. C. Thomas Vangsness, Jr., in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and Dr. Qing Liu-Michael at the Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC, who helped significantly with the grant application process. The CIRM grant is the first step in bringing our allogeneic human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell treatment for knee osteoarthritis (AlloJoinTM) to the U.S. market.

Our AlloJoinTM program has previously undergone extensive manufacturing development and pre-clinical studies and is undergoing a Phase I clinical trial in China. In order to demonstrate comparability with cell banks previously produced in China for our U.S. IND filing, we are addressing the pre-clinical answers required for the FDA. With the funds provided by CIRM, we will replicate and validate the manufacturing process and control system at the cGMP facility located at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles to support the filing of an IND with the FDA. The outcome of this grant will enable us to have qualified final cell products ready to use in a Phase I clinical trial with Dr. Vangsness as the Principal Investigator and the Keck School of Medicine of USC as a trial site. Dr. Vangsness is familiar with both stem cell biology and KOA, and has led the only randomized double-blind human clinical study to investigate expanded allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells to date. Our endeavor in the U.S. market will further strengthen our commercialization pipeline.

CBMG recently announced promising interim 3-month safety data from its Phase I clinical trial in China for AlloJoinTM, its off-the-shelf allogeneic stem cell therapy for KOA. The trial is on schedule to be completed by the third quarter of 2017.

About CIRM

At CIRM, we never forget that we were created by the people of California to accelerate stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs, and to act with a sense of urgency commensurate with that mission. To meet this challenge, our team of highly trained and experienced professionals actively partners with both academia and industry in a hands-on, entrepreneurial environment to fast track the development of today's most promising stem cell technologies.

With $3 billion in funding and over 280 active stem cell programs in our portfolio, CIRM is the world's largest institution dedicated to helping people by bringing the future of medicine closer to reality.

For more information, please visit http://www.cirm.ca.gov.

About Knee Osteoarthritis

According to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, there are 27 million Americans with Osteoarthritis (OA), and symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) occurs in 13% of persons aged 60 and older. The International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases, 2011 reports that approximately 57 million people in China suffer from KOA. Currently no treatment exists that can effectively preserve knee joint cartilage or slow the progression of KOA. Current common drug-based methods of management, including anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), only relieve symptoms and carry the risk of side effects. Patients with KOA suffer from compromised mobility, leading to sedentary lifestyles; doubling the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity; and increasing the risk of all causes of mortality, colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, depression and anxiety. According to the Epidemiology of Rheumatic Disease (Silman AJ, Hochberg MC. Oxford Univ. Press, 1993:257), 53% of patients with KOA will eventually become disabled.

About Cellular Biomedicine Group (CBMG)

Cellular Biomedicine Group, Inc. develops proprietary cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and degenerative diseases. Our immuno-oncology and stem cell projects are the result of research and development by CBMGs scientists and clinicians from both China and the United States. Our GMP facilities in China, consisting of twelve independent cell production lines, are designed and managed according to both China and U.S. GMP standards. To learn more about CBMG, please visit http://www.cellbiomedgroup.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statementsincluding descriptions of plans, strategies, trends, specific activities, investments and other non-historical factsas defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking information is inherently uncertain, and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to a number of factors, which include risks inherent in doing business, trends affecting the global economy (including the devaluation of the RMB by China in August 2015), and other risks detailed in CBMGs reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, quarterly reports on form 10-Q, current reports on form 8-K and annual reports on form 10-K. Forward-looking statements may be identified by terms such as "may," "will," "expects," "plans," "intends," "estimates," "potential," "continue" or similar terms or their negations. Although CBMG believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, they cannot guarantee that future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements will be obtained. CBMG does not have any obligation to update these forward-looking statements other than as required by law.

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Cellular Biomedicine Group Awarded $2.29 Million Grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM ... - EconoTimes

A high-level meeting has paved the way for global trials to begin on hundreds of patients.

British scientists have found a way to use stem cells to repair damaged tissue which could help millions living with heart failure, the UKs leading cause of death.

Scarring due to disease or heart attacks affects more than two million people in Britain.

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This would be the biggest breakthrough since the first transplants three decades ago

Professor Steve Westaby

Initial trials involving more than 100 patients are being planned for the autumn at two London hospitals.

World renowned cardiac surgeon Professor Steve Westaby, who helped pioneer the revolutionary technique, said it had been thought that repairing heart damage was impossible.

But results from a long-term trial that began in Greece five years ago have shown that this is not the case.

Preliminary data from this trial showed the engineered stem cells, known as Heartcel, can reverse scarring by up to 79 per cent.

The data, presented at the European Society of Cell and Gene Therapy in Florence, showed an average of 40 per cent reduction in heart damage in those on the treatment.

Last month researchers finalised talks with European and US regulators to discuss the timetable for global trials next year involving 500 people.

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6 early signs of a heart attack

Professor Westaby, from the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, said: I am very excited at the prospect of a trial which will hopefully lead to the availability of this stem cell treatment to thousands of patients annually in the UK.

Other scientists have tried in vain to repair damaged heart muscle using stem cells over the past few decades.

This is the first time scarring has been shown to be reversible. It could herald an end to transplants and lead to a treatment for heart failure within three to five years.

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Professor Westaby said: This would be the biggest breakthrough since the first transplants three decades ago.

Professor Westaby has been working on the technique for more than a decade and is carrying out the study with Professor Kim Fox, head of the National Heart and Lung Institute, at Imperial College London.

The implanted stem cells were created by medical outfit Celixir, co-founded by Nobel laureate Professor Martin Evans, the first scientist to culture mice embryonic stem cells in a laboratory.

Professor Westaby was inspired to work on the breakthrough in 1999 after a four-month-old baby girls heart healed itself after he carried out a major life-saving operation.

Kirsty Collier, from Swindon, was dying of a serious and rare heart defect. In a last ditch effort Professor Westaby cut away a third of her badly damaged heart.

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Surprisingly it began to beat. Fourteen years later a scan has shown that the heart had healed itself.

Now Kirsty, 18, has a normal one. Professor Westaby said: She was essentially dead and was only resurrected by what I regarded at the time as a completely bizarre operation.

The fact there was no sign of heart damage told me there were foetal stem cells in babies hearts that could remove scarring of heart muscle. That never happens in adults.

Its all down to the clues we got from Kirstys operation.

Originally posted here:
Heart failure BREAKTHROUGH: Stem cells trial offers hope to millions - Express.co.uk

In 1997Dolly the sheep was introducedto the world by biologists Keith Campbell, Ian Wilmut and colleagues. Not just any lamb, Dolly was a clone. Rather than being made from a sperm and an egg, she originated from a mammary gland cell of another, no-longer-living, six-year-old Fynn Dorset ewe.

With her birth, a scientific and societal revolution was also born.

Some prominent scientistsraised doubts; it was too good to be true. But more animals were cloned: first thelaboratory mouse, thencows,goats,pigs,horses, evendogs,ferretsandcamels. By early 2000, the issue was settled: Dolly was real and cloning adults was possible.

The implications of cloning animals in our society were self-evident from the start. Our advancing ability to reprogram adult, already specialized cells and start them over as something new may one day be the key to creating cells and organs that match the immune system of each individual patient in need of replacements.

But what somehow got lost was the fact that a clone was born at day zero created from the cell of another animal that was six years old. Researchers have spent the past 20 years trying to untangle the mysteries of how clones age. How old, biologically, are these animals born from other adult animals cells?

Decades of cloning research

Dolly became an international celebrity, but she was not the first vertebrate to be cloned from a cell taken from the body of another animal. In 1962, developmental biologistJohn Gurdoncloned the first adult animalby taking a cell from the intestine of one frog and injecting it into an egg of another. Gurdons work did not go unnoticed he went on to share the2012 Nobel Prizein Physiology or Medicine. But it was Dolly who had captured our imagination. Was it because she was a warm-blooded animal, a mammal, much closer to human? If you could do it in a sheep, you could do it on us!

Dolly, along with Gurdons frogs from 35 years earlier and all the other experiments in between, redirected our scientific studies. It was amazing to see a differentiated cell an adult cell specialized to do its particular job transform into an embryonic one that could go on to give rise to all the other cells of a normal body. We researchers wondered if we could go further: Could we in the lab make an adult cell once again undifferentiated, without needing to make a cloned embryo?

A decade after Dolly was announced, stem cell researcherShynia Yamanakas teamdid just that. He went on to be the Nobel corecipient with Gurdon for showing that mature cells could bereprogrammed to become pluripotent: able to develop into any specialized adult cell.

Now we have the possibility of making individualized replacement cells potentially any kind to replace tissue damaged due to injury, genetic disorders and degeneration. Not only cells; we may soon be able to haveour own organs grown in a nonhuman host, ready to be transplanted when needed.

If Dolly was responsible for unleashing the events that culminate with new methods of making fully compatible cells and organs, then her legacy would be to improve the health of practically all human beings on this planet. And yet, I am convinced that there are even better things to come.

Dollys secrets still unfolding

In the winter of 2013, I found myself driving on the wrong side of the road through the Nottingham countryside. In contrast to the luscious landscape, I was in a state gloom; I was on my way to see Keith Campbells family after his sudden death a few weeks earlier. Keith was a smart, fun, loving friend who, along with Ian Wilmut andcolleagues at the Roslin Institute, had brought us Dolly 15 years earlier. We had met at a conference in the early 1990s, when we were both budding scientists playing around with cloning, Keith with sheep, me with cows. An extrovert by nature, he quickly dazzled me with his wit, self-deprecating humor and nonstop chat, all delivered in a thick West Midlands accent. Our friendship that began then continued until his death.

When I knocked at the door of his quaint farmhouse, my plan was to stay just a few minutes, pay my respects to his wife and leave. Five hours and several Guinnesses later, I left feeling grateful. Keith could do that to you, but this time it wasnt him, it was his latest work speaking for him. Thats because his wife very generously told me the project Keith was working on at the time of his death. I couldnt hide my excitement: Could it be possible that after 20 years, the most striking aspect of Dollys legacy was not yet revealed?

See, when Dolly was cloned, she was created using a cell from a six-year-old sheep. Andshe died at age six and a half, a premature death for a breed that lives an average of nine years or more. People assumed that an offspring cloned from an adult was starting at an age disadvantage; rather than truly being a newborn, it seemed like a clones internal age would be more advanced that the length of its own life would suggest. Thus the notion that clones biological age and their chronological one were out of sync, and that cloned animals will die young.

Some of us were convinced that if the cloning procedure was done properly, the biological clock should be reset a newborn clone would truly start at zero. We worked very hard to prove our point. We were not convinced by a single DNA analysis done in Dolly showing slightly shortertelomeres the repetitive DNA sequences at the end of chromosomes that count how many times a cell divides. We presented strong scientific evidence showing that cloned cows had all thesame molecular signs of agingas a nonclone, predicting a normal lifespan. Othersshowed the same in cloned mice. But we couldnt ignore reports from colleagues interpretingbiological signs in cloned animalsthat they attributed toincomplete resetting of the biological clock. So the jury was out.

Aging studies are very hard to do because there are only two data points that really count: date of birth and date of death. If you want to know the lifespan of an individual you have to wait until its natural death. Little did I know, that is what Keith was doing back in 2012.

That Saturday afternoon I spent in Keiths house in Nottingham, I saw a photo of the animals in Keiths latest study: several cloned Dollies, all much older than Dolly at the time she had died, and they looked terrific. I was in awe.

The data were confidential, so I had to remain silent until late last year whenthe work was posthumously published. Keiths coauthors humbly said: For those clones that survive beyond the perinatal period [] the emerging consensus, supported by the current data, is that they are healthy and seem to age normally.

These findings became even more relevant when last December researchers at theScripps Research Institutefound that induced pluripotent stem cells reprogrammed using the Yamanaka factorsretain the aging epigenetic signature of the donor individual. In other words, using these four genes to attempt to reprogram the cells does not seem to reset the biological clock.

The new Dollies are now telling us that if we take a cell from an animal of any age, and we introduce its nucleus into a nonfertilized mature egg, we can have an individual born with its lifespan fully restored. They confirmed that all signs of biological and chronological age matched between cloned and noncloned sheep.

There seems to be a natural built-in mechanism in the eggs that can rejuvenate a cell. We dont know what it is yet, but it is there. Our group as well as others are hard at work, and as soon as someone finds it, the most astonishing legacy of Dolly will be realized.

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More lessons from Dolly the sheep: Is a clone really born at age zero ... - Salon

Ahmedabad: Picture this: You walk into a room and after two steps inside, you are past a curtain and you can't see anything-there isn't a single ray of light. There is 'white noise' in the background that is suppressing all other sounds around. Your only guide is the walls and things you can touch and the smells you can identify. The thought may either be intimidating, disturbing or even adventurous and beautiful. Such is the space designed by city-based space designer duoFreyaan Anklesaria and Mirant Tiwarito let people experience the life of a deaf-blind person for a few minutes. In fact, it is the world's first interactive space to emulate deaf-blindness. Known as 'SenseX', indicating Sensory Experience, the interactive space is created with a view to making people empathize with deaf-blindness, a disability even though long-prevailing in India, that was recognized as a disability in the last winter session of the Parliament with the new disabilities bill. At present, the installation of the experiential space is kept at the campus of Blind People's Association. "Deaf-blind people lose 95% of their input information as their receptive sensory organs are impaired. Our idea is not to let people get disturbed but rather let them experience the life of a deaf-blind person and see beauty through their eyes," explained Freyaan, who is a city-based interior designer. "The space is still being improvised with minor changes to make the experience more wholesome," she added. The entire project is funded by Sense International India, an NGO which is working to address multi-sensory impairment, mainly deaf-blindness. Sharing more details about the project, Mirant, who is the co-founder of Hats & Beards, a design agency, said, "Initially during the research phase, we looked for existing spaces that were designed to simulate deaf-blindness so that we get an idea to implement them better. While we came across experiential spaces for deafness and blindness separately, we did not come across a single one that lets one experience both."

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Empathize with deaf-blindness in world's 1st interactive space ... - Times of India

New Delhi: The Department of Biotechnology has invited applications from eligible candidates for admission to Molecular Biology and Biotechnology for Fisheries Professionals. This program is completely sponsored by Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India.

The three-month training program comprises 45 days of theory classes with hands-on practical sessions and 45 days of research work. All basic molecular biology and genetic engineering and molecular genetics techniques are included in the course along with their applications in various aspects of aquaculture and fisheries.

Participants are also expected to prepare research proposals and reports in DBT prescribed formats to familiarize them with the procedure of seeking extramural funding from DBT or other funding agencies.

Programme dates: CIFA & CMFRI : 15 Feb to 13 May 2017 CIFE : 7 March to 6 Jun 2017 CIFA, CMFRI and CIFE : 01.11.2017 to 30.01.2018

Eligibility Assistant Professors/ Scientists and above/ Post-doctoral fellows employed in SAUs, CAUs, Fisheries Colleges, research institutes, traditional universities and engaged in research and teaching in the area of aquaculture, sheries, marine biology, aquatic biology and allied disciplines.

Selection of participants: The total number of participants will be 10 at each collaborating institute. Selection letters will be communicated 20 days prior to the start date of the programme subject to receiving duly forwarded applications.

For more details, visit http://www.dbtindia.nic.in/

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Training in Molecular Biology, Biotechnology - Mathrubhumi English

Metro

Living with arthritis What is it, who can get it and how can you treat it? Metro 'Arthritis is a chronic (long-term), degenerative 'wear and tear' condition that can affect all joints in the body, but predominantly the 'heavy duty' weight-bearing joints such as in the spine, pelvis, hips and knees. 'Arthritis mostly manifests with ...

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Living with arthritis What is it, who can get it and how can you treat it? - Metro

Clues to relationship between schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis Science Daily While schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder of unknown origin and rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease of the joints that occurs as a result of the body's immune system attacking its own cells, both disorders are thought to be influenced by ...

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Clues to relationship between schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis - Science Daily

SWNS

Keith Young, 69, was bedridden when he was hit by crippling arthritis in both knees three years ago.

Mr Young, who was a keen scuba diver, golfer and fisherman, was in so much pain he considered ordering a Zimmer frame or undergoing knee replacement surgery.

However, in a final attempt to avoid these desperate measures he tried inserting copper insoles into his shoes.

Within five weeks, the retired print firm boss noticed the pain was beginning to ease and now he is back on the golf course.

Mr Young, from County Kerry, Ireland, said: I had arthritis in both knees. It was getting worse and worse.

I'm overweight and 69-years-old and I was dreading the thought of needing two replacement knees.

SWNS

I felt like I didn't have much to live for but now I can honestly say the Copper Heelers have been a life saver.

Keith Young

It got so bad I ended up walking with a walking stick and was considering a Zimmer frame.

The father-of-three believed he was being plagued by old football injuries when he began to feel pain and discomfort in his knees.

He visited the doctor who told him to see how things went for a while and 'come back if his condition worsened.

Within weeks the arthritis began to impact on his ability to enjoy his normal active lifestyle.

SWNS

The pain and the swelling were unbelievable. I took so many anti-inflammatories and paracetamol.

I was at my wits end. I used to stay in bed two days a week and then I ended up bedridden.

I was extremely depressed and putting on more weight due to the fact I was unable to exercise.

I am an active sort of bloke, always have been. I used to walk regularly, play golf and scuba dive.

SWNS

However, Keith was forced to give up golf. He also found it impossible to enjoy his regular walks in the countryside with wife Elsa, 67. Defying his wife's wishes, Keith refused to go back to the doctor amid fears he would need a knee replacement.

Mrs Young was desperate to help her husband so she did a lot of research and came across a company selling copper insoles. She bought him a pair and he inserted them in his shoes.

Within a week, he was more mobile, and was soon fit enough to join his wife on an occasional walk to the shops.

Five weeks later he started to accompany Mrs Young on walks in the country with the help of a walking stick.

Now, he is nearly back to full fitness and is looking forward to getting his golf handicap down.

He is now also able to walk briskly without pain. He said: My pain has gone. I am no longer depressed and have cut right back on the pain killers.

After being bedridden for six weeks because of the pain I was very depressed.

I felt like I didn't have much to live for but now I can honestly say the Copper Heelers have been a life saver.

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The apparent healing powers of copper were first pioneered by the ancient Greeks who used copper bracelets to ease aches and pains.

Copper Heelers are said to contain 14 times more copper than a copper bracelet.

Copper is an essential mineral in the body and is thought to keep blood vessels, the immune system and bones healthy.

SWNS

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Arthritis sufferer facing a double knee op is now pain free thanks to COPPER INSOLES - Express.co.uk

Home Anti-Aging Arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis and kidneys: Protecting your kidneys from RA

Rheumatoid arthritis patients are at an increased risk for chronic kidney disease. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have found that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have a higher risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) along with an increase in inflammation within the first year of diagnosis, corticosteroid usage, hypertension, and obesity. The researchers recommend that rheumatoid arthritis patients be tested periodically for signs of kidney problems. Patients should also work to manage blood pressure by avoiding high-salt diets and scaling back on medications that can harm the kidneys.

The study looked at 813 Mayo Clinic patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 813 patients without the condition. Over the course of 20 years, rheumatoid arthritis patients had a one in four chance of developing chronic kidney disease, in comparison to the general public who had a one in five chance.

Senior author Dr. Eric Matteson said, That might not seem like a lot, but in fact thats quite a big difference, and it has important implications for the course of rheumatoid arthritis and for the management of the disease.

Heart disease was also found to be common in rheumatoid arthritis patients with chronic kidney disease. Risk factors in rheumatoid arthritis patients for developing chronic kidney disease include corticosteroid use, severe inflammation, obesity, hypertension, and abnormally high cholesterol.

Dr. Matteson noted that there are currently no treatment guidelines for chronic kidney disease in rheumatoid arthritis, but he warns that doctors should be mindful of the medications they put RA patients on to reduce their risk of CKD. Furthermore, RA patients should undergo routine blood work and urine analysis to monitor kidney function. Kidney disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis can be detected very simply, and the techniques are the same as are used in the general population, Dr. Matteson added.

To further reduce their risk of CKD, the patients should be watchful of their blood pressure and reduce their use of medications that can be toxic to the kidneys.

Inflammation is the key component in the impact rheumatoid arthritis has on the kidneys. Normally, inflammation is a mechanism that the body utilizes to protect and heal the body, but chronic inflammation does far more harm than good, causing stress and destroying cells and tissue.

Other factors that contribute to a higher risk of chronic kidney disease in rheumatoid arthritis include obesity, hypertension, a corticosteroid medication, high cholesterol, and a high-salt diet.

Many of the risk factors for CKD in RA are modifiable, so its important that RA patients partake in the appropriate lifestyle changes in order to reduce their risk of chronic kidney disease.

The symptoms of kidney disease may be similar to those of RA and include fatigue, decreased appetite, itchy or darkened skin, muscle cramps, eye puffiness, shortness of breath, swollen feet and ankles, difficulty concentrating, trouble sleeping, and increased urination.

While there are no set standards for how often doctors should test patients with RA for kidney disease, it is likely your physician will begin testing you more often after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Your risk for kidney disease also increases if you have diabetes, a family history of kidney disease, heart disease, high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol, so your doctor may test you more frequently if you have one or more of these conditions.

An RA diagnosis does not necessarily mean that you will definitely develop kidney disease. In fact, there are ways to protect your kidneys that include exercising regularly, eating a balanced, healthy diet with plenty of fresh produce, limiting your sodium intake, monitoring and controlling your cholesterol levels, and staying hydrated. Regular testing and checkups with your doctor can also help to keep your kidneys healthy and prevent your condition from worsening.

http://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/comorbidities/kidney-disease/rheumatoid-arthritis-and-your-kidneys.php

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Rheumatoid arthritis and kidneys: Protecting your kidneys from RA - Bel Marra Health

February 25 at 10:00 AM

A Web-based program of exercise and coping skills training improves both function and pain in arthritic knees, a new study suggests.

This kind of online therapy can greatly improve access to effective, nonsurgical and non-drug relief for people with osteoarthritis of the knee, researchers say.

Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of chronic knee pain and disability globally, lead author Kim Bennell, a researcher and physiotherapist at the University of Melbourne in Australia, said.

It has a significant individual, societal and economic burden and on an individual level knee osteoarthritis causes loss of function, reduced quality of life, and psychological distress, Bennell said by email.

Exercise is known as the gold standard of conservative management for knee osteoarthritis, she added. Psychological treatments, in particular, pain coping skills training that teaches people strategies to manage and cope with their painful symptoms, have also been identified as important and effective, Bennell said.

Sadly, such effective treatments are highly underutilized in the management of osteoarthritis. One reason for this relates to the challenges of accessing a specialist who delivers these services, particularly for people living in rural areas where services may be limited or non-existent or due to the mobility issues that are experienced by people suffering chronic knee pain, she said.

For the study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Bennell and her colleagues enrolled 148 men and women over age 50 who had Internet access and had knee pain on most days of the week over the previous three months.

Participants were randomly assigned to a treatment group or a control group, both of which received Web-based educational material about exercise and pain management for arthritis.

The treatment group also got access to an online program called PainCOACH and were asked to complete one 35- to 45-minute module each week over the course of eight weeks and to practice the pain-coping skills they learned daily. The interactive program included training in relaxation, problem solving, using pleasant imagery and changing negative thoughts to cope with pain.

In addition, the treatment group had seven Skype sessions with a physical therapist, each lasting 30 or 45 minutes, over 12 weeks. After evaluating each patient, the therapist taught them exercises for lower-leg strengthening and prescribed a regimen to do three times a week.

At the beginning of the study, then three and nine months later, participants completed multiple questionnaires scoring their pain levels and functioning.

At the three-month mark, those who got the online coping skills and exercise training had significantly lower scores for pain, functioning and distress than when they started and compared with the people in the control group. This difference between the groups remained at nine months, though the gap closed somewhat.

The important takeaway message from these findings is that an Internet-delivered intervention that adopts a holistic approach to the management of chronic knee pain and knee osteoarthritis, using freely available computer software, is effective and well received by its users, Bennell said.

These results are encouraging and show that telemedicine is clearly ready for prime time, writes Lisa Mandl, a rheumatologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, in an accompanying editorial.

The real added benefit here is that patients do not have to come in for an appointment. They can access high-quality exercise and coping skills therapy, that is particularly tailored to them, at a place and time which is convenient, Mandl said by email.

Patients may also feel more comfortable asking questions of their therapist when they are asking them from the comfort and privacy of their own home, she added.

They may also be more motivated to follow the programs, knowing that they will receive a personalized follow-up call at home, and cannot avoid talking to the therapist by missing [an] appointment, Mandl said.

Mandl said she thinks this type of intervention would apply to most people, especially patients who live in rural areas or places without easy access to therapists. The fact that the therapist could be located anywhere is especially helpful for patients who may not speak English, she noted.

Reuters

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Posted on Feb. 23, 2017, 6 a.m. in Stem Cell Research Immune System Stem Cell

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation halted progression of Multiple Sclerosis for 5 years in 46% of patients.

Recent research indicates that the transplant of autologous hematopoietic stem cells (AHSCT) is an excellent treatment for multiple sclerosis. It has been determined that the procedure stops disease progression for half a decade in nearly 50 percent of multiple sclerosis patients.

About the Study

The study was spearheaded by Dr. Paolo Muraro from the Imperial College London's Department of Medicine. Dr. Muraro and his colleagues revealed their findings through JAMA Neurology. These results were released on the heels of a separate study that found the success of a similar treatment in patients suffering from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Dr. Muraro and his research team are quick to point out that additional trials are necessary to gauge the efficacy and safety of AHSCT. It is important to note that some patients perished within the first 100 days of treatment.

About AHSCT

AHSCT involves the harvesting of a patient's own stem cells. The patient is subjected to a powerful dose of chemotherapy to destroy any diseased cells. The next step is the return of harvested stem cells to the patient's blood. The goal is to restart the production of normal blood cells.

In layman's terms, AHSCT is best understood as a resetting of the body's immune system. Though it was already known that this style of treatment resets the immune system and poses certain risks, the length of its benefits was not fully understood. We now have a better picture of these benefits. AHSCT Results

The research team studied data from over two dozen treatment centers in 13 countries. They pinpointed 281 patients who suffered from multiple sclerosis and underwent AHSCT from 1995 to 2006. Exactly 78 percent of these patients had a progressive form of multiple sclerosis. The team made use of the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) to analyze patients' survival after five years of treatment as well as improvements in their multiple sclerosis symptoms. A whopping 46 percent of these patients enjoyed zero disease progression in the five years following treatment. Those with RRMS, characterized by flare-ups (inflammatory attacks) and periods of remission enjoyed the optimal outcomes.

An amazing 73 percent of these patients did not endure worsening of symptoms in the 5 years following AHSCT. Some patients also experienced minor improvements in their multiple sclerosis symptoms following AHSCT. Those with progressive multiple sclerosis enjoyed a rise in EDSS score by 0.14 in the year after treatment. Those with RRMS experienced an EDSS score increase of 0.76. Those of a younger age, minimal immunotherapies before AHSCT and a comparably lower EDSS score also displayed improved outcomes with AHSCT. Treatment Risk

The findings described above clearly show promise for the AHSCT use in individuals who suffer from multiple sclerosis. The research team would like to make it perfectly clear that some patients died in the 100 days following AHSCT. Exactly eight patients perished in this time period. It is assumed that the deaths were related to treatment. AHSCT makes use of aggressive chemotherapy that significantly weakens the immune system and spikes one's risk for infection. Since multiple sclerosis is not a disease that is immediately life-threatening, the risk of death posed by AHSCT must be weighed by all multiple sclerosis patients.

What's next Dr. Muraro is adamant that a follow-up study must be performed that includes a group of multiple sclerosis patients who have not received AHSCT. It is clear that additional studies are required to accurately gauge the efficacy and safety of AHSCT. Ideally, a massive randomized controlled trial of AHSCT will be performed in the coming months.

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Stem Cell Therapy Halts Multiple Sclerosis - Anti Aging News

A type of treatment for multiple sclerosis that 'resets' the immune system may stop progression of the disease in nearly half of patients.

In a new study, led by Imperial College London, the treatment prevented symptoms of severe disease from worsening for five years, in 46 per cent of patients.

However, as the treatment involves aggressive chemotherapy, the researchers stress the procedure carries significant risk.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects around 100,000 people in the UK, and 2.3 million worldwide. The condition is caused by the immune system malfunctioning and mistakenly attacking nerves in the brain and spinal cord. This leads to a range of symptoms including fatigue, problems with arm and leg movement, vision and balance. There is no cure but certain medications can help slow progression of the disease.

The treatment in the current study, called autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT), was given to patients with advanced forms of the disease that had failed to respond to other medications.

The study, published in the journalJAMA Neurology, suggested some patients even saw a small improvement in their symptoms following the treatment. The one-off treatment aims to prevent the immune system from attacking the nerve cells. All immune system cells are made from stem cells in the bone marrow. In the treatment, a patient is given a drug that encourages stem cells to move from the bone marrow into the blood stream, and these cells are then removed from the body.

The patient then receives high-dose chemotherapy that kills any remaining immune cells. The patient's stem cells are then transfused back into their body to re-grow their immune system. Previous studies have suggested this 'resets' the immune system, and stops it from attacking the nerve cells.

However, because the treatment involves aggressive chemotherapy that inactivates the immune system for a short period of time, some patients died from infections. Out of the 281 patients who received the treatment in the study, eight died in the 100 days following the treatment. Older patients, and those with the most severe forms of the disease, were found to have a higher risk of death.

Dr Paolo Muraro, lead author of the study from the Department of Medicine at Imperial, explained that the risks must be weighed-up against the benefits: "We previously knew this treatment reboots or resets the immune system - and that it carried risks - but we didn't know how long the benefits lasted.

"In this study, which is the largest long-term follow-up study of this procedure, we've shown we can 'freeze' a patient's disease - and stop it from becoming worse, for up to five years.

However, we must take into account that the treatment carries a small risk of death, and this is a disease that is not immediately life-threatening."

Most patients with multiple sclerosis have a type of the disease that has flare-ups, known as relapses, followed by an improvement in symptoms. This is called relapsing-remitting MS.

Dr Muraro explained the number of years this treatment prevented symptoms from worsening is far greater than would be expected in untreated patients with severe forms of relapsing MS.

The study found that in patients with relapsing MS, nearly three in four (73 per cent) experienced no worsening of their symptoms five years after the treatment. Younger patients with less severe forms of the disease were more likely respond to the therapy.

However, the majority of the patients in the study had a progressive form of MS. This is a more severe form of the disease, and for which there are currently no treatments. Among these patients, one in three experienced no worsening of symptoms five years after treatment.

Some patients saw a small improvement in their symptoms, though this improvement was larger in patients with relapsing MS, compared to patients with the progressive form.

Disability in MS is assessed on a scale known as the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). In this scale, zero represents no disability, seven is wheelchair-bound, while ten is death from MS. At the beginning of the study, patients had an average EDSS score of 6.5.

Patients with relapsing MS had an average improvement in their EDSS score of 0.76, one year after the treatment. Patients with progressive MS had only a marginal improvement of 0.14.

Dr Muraro added these findings suggest larger trials of this procedure are now needed.

"These findings are very promising - but crucially we didn't have a placebo group in this study, of patients who didn't receive the treatment. We urgently need more effective treatments for this devastating condition, and so a large randomised controlled trial of this treatment should be the next step."

Dr Sorrel Bickley, Head of Biomedical Research at the MS Society, added: "This study is one of the largest to date looking at AHSCT as a treatment for MS and the findings offer some encouraging insights. It shows that AHSCT can slow or stop progression for many years, and the treatment is most effective in people with MS who have 'active inflammation' in their brain and spinal cord.

"There are more than 100,000 people with MS in the UK, it's a challenging and unpredictable condition to live with and that's why the MS Society is funding research like this to further our knowledge and find treatments for everyone.

"If anyone with MS is considering AHSCT they should speak to their neurologist as a referral is needed to access this treatment via a trial or on the NHS."

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MS Treatment That 'Resets' Immune System May Halt Disease Progression for Estimated 5 Years - Drug Discovery & Development

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Wayne State study finds Zika virus may cause blindness Crain's Detroit Business A study released Friday by a team of Wayne State University researchers in Detroit shows that Zika virus may cause blindness. The report, led by microbiologist Ashok Kumar, found that the virus can spread and damage tissue in the eye's retinal cells ... Wayne State Vision Researchers Show Zika Virus Can Damage Retina and Cause BlindnessInfection Control Today all 2 news articles »

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Nasdaq Slips as Biotechnology Shares Decline Wall Street Journal (subscription) Declines in biotechnology shares dragged down the Nasdaq Composite, pressuring an index that has soared so far this year. The Nasdaq fell 0.4% Thursday but is up more than 8% in 2017, outperforming both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P ... and more »

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An in-depth computational analysis of genetic variants implicated in both schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh points to eight genes that may explain why susceptibility to one of the disorders could place individuals at lower risk for the other, according to the results of a study published today in the journal npj Schizophrenia.

There is a wealth of genomic data on both schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis. Analyzing it jointly with known protein interaction information could provide invaluable clues to the relationship between the diseases and also shed light on their shared roots, said Madhavi Ganapathiraju Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical informatics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and senior author of the study.

While schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder of unknown origin and rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease of the joints that occurs as a result of the bodys immune system attacking its own cells, both disorders are thought to be influenced by multiple genetic risk factors modified by the environment.

Several previous research studies have hinted at a potential inverse relationship in the prevalence and risk for the two disorders, so we wondered if individual genetic variants may exist that could have opposing effects on the risk of schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis, said co-senior author Vishwajit Nimgaonkar M.D., Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at Pitts School of Medicine and human genetics at Pitts Graduate School of Public Health.

The researchers first analyzed two large databases of genetic variants significantly associated with either schizophrenia or rheumatoid arthritis. They identified 18 unique variants, also known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were located in the HLA region of the genome that harbors genes associated with immune function. The variants appeared to confer different risk for schizophrenia or rheumatoid arthritis. As the SNPs were located near eight known genes in this region, the authors suggested those genes might lead to dysfunction in both schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis. Proteins encoded by two of these eight genes, HLA-B and HLA-C, are present in both brain and immune cells.

Analysis of proteins that interact with these eight genes using a computational model developed last year by Ganapathirajus team called High-Precision Protein Interaction Prediction found more than 25 signaling pathways with proteins common to both rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia signaling. Moreover, several of these pathways were associated with immune system function and inflammation.

The findings are encouraging because they support associations of the HLA gene region and immune function with schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis that were known over four decades ago, said Ganapathiraju.

Increasing evidence also suggests that a dysfunctional immune system could play a role in the development of schizophrenia.

We believe that the research community studying these two disorders will find our results extremely helpful, Nimgaonkar said.

The authors note that the study only focused on SNPs in known gene regions, and other mechanisms apart from the ones they described may also contribute to the diseases. However, the study has significantly narrowed the list of potential genes for examining the schizophrenia/rheumatoid arthritis relationship. Studying the functional relevance of the gene candidates in cells and tissues will provide insights into the two disorders, according to the researchers.

Other study authors included Tulsi A. Malavia, Srilakshmi Chaparala, Joel Wood, Kodavalli Chowdari, Ph.D., Konasale M. Prasad, M.D., and Lora McClain, Ph.D., all of Pitt; and Anil G. Jegga, D.V.M., of Cincinnati Childrens Hospital.

The research was funded by National Institutes of Health grants MH93480, MH093246, MH084053 and MH094564.

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Clues to relationship between schizophrenia and rheumatoid ... - ScienceBlog.com (blog)

By Alan Mozes

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Feb. 24, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Depression in people with the chronic inflammatory skin disease psoriasis increases the risk of getting the joint condition known as psoriatic arthritis by about 37 percent, new research indicates.

The finding raises concerns because depression is not uncommon in people with psoriasis, according to the authors of the study in the Feb. 22 issue of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

"For many years, the rheumatology and dermatology communities have been trying to understand which patients with psoriasis go on to develop psoriatic arthritis, and how we might detect it earlier in the disease course," senior investigator Dr. Cheryl Barnabe said in a journal news release. She is from the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health and the O'Brien Institute for Public Health at the University of Calgary in Alberta.

While the study found a connection between depression and the development of psoriatic arthritis, it wasn't designed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

Psoriasis is a condition characterized by red, itchy and scaly skin patches. These patches can sometimes be disfiguring. Psoriatic arthritis generally occurs in people with psoriasis, though it can occur on its own, according to the American College of Rheumatology. The condition causes joint pain and swelling, typically in the large joints and fingers and toes. It can cause joint damage, too.

The study authors noted that prior work has linked having a major depressive disorder with a high risk for systemic inflammation. This could explain why depression would bump up the risk for psoriatic arthritis.

To explore the link, the investigators analyzed information on more than 70,000 psoriasis patients in the United Kingdom that had been collected by a primary care database.

Patients were tracked for upwards of 25 years.

The researchers adjusted the data to account for other factors, such as age and drinking habits. Ultimately, they determined that people who had been depressed faced a much higher risk for psoriatic arthritis than those who hadn't been depressed.

"There is a tendency to think of depression as a purely 'psychological' or 'emotional' issue, but it also has physical effects and changes in inflammatory and immune markers have been reported in depressed people," said Dr. Scott Patten, from the O'Brien Institute.

"Depression may be a risk factor for a variety of chronic conditions, and this research is an example of how big data approaches can identify these associations," he said.

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SOURCE: Journal of Investigative Dermatology, news release, Feb. 22, 2017

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Are rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis simply the same illness diagnosed at different life stages?

The answer isnt as clear-cut as rheumatologists, patients, and researchers might think.

Juvenile arthritis (JA) also known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, pediatric arthritis, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis is the sixth most common childhood disease, but its often misdiagnosed or undiagnosed.

One reason for this is due to the misconception that arthritis only affects an older portion of the population. Another problem is the national shortage of pediatric rheumatology specialists.

There is also the issue that the umbrella term juvenile arthritis actually encompasses several unique childhood rheumatologic diseases.

Furthering the confusion surrounding JA is whether or not it is actually a separate and distinct disease from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or if it is simply early-onset or pediatric RA, meaning, the same disease diagnosed at a younger age.

Read more: Get the facts on juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

A new study may provide some clarity and guidance about the JA vs. RA conundrum.

In it, researchers say a genetic link has been found between JA and RA.

It was already known among pediatric rheumatologists that some kinds of juvenile idiopathic arthritis have adult counterparts.

Past research also showed that there was a genetic link between juvenile idiopathic arthritis and a chromosomal abnormality, but the sample sizes were weak.

In the new study, genetic associations within juvenile idiopathic arthritis categories were compared with adult inflammatory arthritis.

According to a press release about the study, A major finding was that there were within-category associations for juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Specifically, the study team found that rheumatoid factor (RF)-negative polyarticular and oligoarticular were genetically similar. Comparisons with adult disease showed a shared association of human leucocyte antigen-DRB1 amino acid at position 13 for both child-onset and adult diseases. Moreover, researchers found that associations from a combined dataset for juvenile idiopathic arthritis types oligoarthritis and RF-negative polyarthritis were the same associations seen in adult seronegative rheumatoid arthritis.

The authors of the study added, The results of this study have important implications for understanding disease pathogenesis, aetiology, and potential future therapeutic strategies for JIA categories, but they note that more genetic research will need to be done into JA.

Read more: Antibiotics may play a role in juvenile arthritis

But it is possible that these findings may eventually provide better, more targeted novel treatment therapies for JA and RA patients alike.

Or at least may open up treatment options to JA patients who have been limited by the juvenile component of their diagnosis.

The report states that, There are no specific therapeutic strategies for seronegative RA at this time, but given the rarity of this subphenotype of RA and the JIA categories individually, this study suggests that further comparisons of genetic studies for these diseases could help identify novel pathways and targets for therapy for both adult-onset and childhood-onset forms of inflammatory arthritis.

According to an article in The Hospital for Special Surgery, For more than 95 percent of the children with arthritis, we don't need new drugs or miraculous inventions, we just need proper application of the resources we already have.

But a missed JA diagnosis or delayed treatment can be catastrophic, as evidenced by recent reports out of the United Kingdom.

The same can be said for adult-onset RA.

Whether they share these genetic commonalities or not, both diseases are among the most disabling in their respective age demographic and both can affect more than bones and joints.

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Adult RA and Juvenile Arthritis May Be More Similar Than Once ... - Healthline