Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage in the joints breaks down, leaving them exposed to grind against each other and causing pain, stiffness and swelling and making movements of the joints difficult.
Now research has indicated that your wellbeing and the future wellness of your joints could actually depend on the genes that you carry. Research has been carried out at the Washing University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified genes that make people more likely to develop osteoarthritis. As well as obesity and age being serious factors in the development of arthritis, these genes could have a vital part to play.
The study tracked information from 68 people who were undergoing surgery to remove or repair torn cartilage from the knee joints. This cartilage is responsible for cushioning the important knee joint and torn cartilage puts people at increased risk of developing osteoarthritis in later life. Gene sampling was taken from the people who had this torn cartilage, and the inflammation in the knee cartilage was then observed, to see if there was a relationship between genetics and propensity to develop osteoarthritis.
During this process, the researchers found that five genes were acting abnormally to the presence of the torn knee cartilage. This may start to highlight the genes that should be looked at when attempting to identify those who may be at risk from arthritis in later life.