A drug used today to treat rheumatoid arthritis might be effective in treating asthma symptoms after two genetic variants have been found to increase asthma susceptibility, researchers from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia and others from around the world reported in The Lancet. The scientists found that cytokines - genes associated with signalling molecules that are involved in how the immune system functions - are involved in the development of asthma.

The authors explained that the causes of asthma have for long been poorly understood, in spite of several attempts to locate the genetic variants. Some recent GWAS (genome-wide associated studies) have only managed to locate some candidate genes which appear to have a slight effect on asthma risk. They have not fully explained the heritability of asthma, which leads doctors and scientists to believe that many genetic variations are involved.

Manuel Ferreira and an international team of experts set out to determine what genetic variations might be responsible for higher asthma risk by carefully examining all current GWAS and expanding on them.

They compared the genomes of thousands of asthma patients with individuals who do not have asthma across several populations and identified two genetic mutations that were strongly linked to asthma risk.

The genetic variants were:
  • rs4129267 in the interleukin-6 receptor (IL6R) gene, and
  • rs7130588 on chromosome 11q13.5
Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a cytokine. A cytokine is any substance that is secreted by some immune system cells that have an effect on other cells. Interferon, interleukin, and growth factors are examples of cytokines. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) plays a major role in immunity response and inflammation - it is involved in the way diseases develop (pathogenesis), including rheumatoid arthritis. The expression of the IL-6 receptor is increased by the rs4129267 risk variant. Consequently, the researchers believe that medications that inhibit the receptor should be tested in clinical trials to see how effective they are at reducing asthma-associated airway inflammation.

The drug tocilizumab is an example of a medication that blocks the receptor. It is already approved for rheumatoid arthritis treatment.

A high proportion of atopic (allergic) asthma patients were found to have the rs7130588 variant on chromosome 11q13.5. Interestingly, it was correlated with a nearby variant which has been recently associated with atopic dermatitis risk.

The authors believe that a gene in this region is involved in the development of allergic sensitisation, which raises allergic asthma risk.

The authors wrote:

"At this stage it is unclear which gene underlies the association with 11q13.5. Given that no specific gene in this region has been directly implicated in allergic disease previou. sly, further characterisation of this region of association is likely to discover novel molecular mechanisms involved in the causality of eczema, atopy, and asthma."


So far, no single genetic cause has been located which is responsible for over 1% of asthma heritability, the authors added. Their findings demonstrate that asthma is a complex condition, and most likely several genes of small effect combine and interact with environmental risk factors in driving asthma risk.

The scientists concluded:

"Our results are consistent with the contribution of hundreds or potentially thousands of variants with weak effects on asthma risk, which can be identified through larger GWAS as already shown with other diseases."


Kathleen Barnes, from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA, in a Comment in the same journal wrote:

"Success in the validation of various candidates (and their pathways) that are already on the asthma shortlist of potential causal genes, and the biological insight to be gained from the novel findings in this report are grounds for optimism in the continuation of the GWAS approach. Combination of GWAS with next-generation technologies will undoubtedly further help to disentangle the molecular underpinnings of complex traits such as asthma."


Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

  • Additional
  • References
  • Citations

Hip impingement (femoracetabular impingement) may be a risk factor of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip. A new study reveals that the presence of an underlying deformity, known as cam impingement, is associated with hip damage in young men without any arthritis symptoms and detected using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Full findings are now published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

Medical evidence reports that hip OA is a major cause of pain and disability, and accounts for more than 200,000 hip replacements in the U.S. each year. Cam impingement limits full range of motion in the hip socket due to boney bumps on the femoral head. The cam-type deformity causes hip pain as the bump moves inside the socket, applying extreme pressure to cartilage and may eventually lead to OA in the hip. Studies have shown that cam impingement is often seen in young male athletes referred to orthopedic specialists after experiencing groin pain, and hip rotation is found to be diminished.

"Given that cam-type deformities are common in young asymptomatic males, we examined whether the deformities were associated with early signs of MRI detected hip damage," explains lead author Dr. Stephan Reichenbach from the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Bern in Switzerland. The researchers recruited participants from a population-based group of male individuals enrolling in the Swiss army at a single recruiting center. A total of 244 males with a mean age of 20 years reported having no hip pain and were qualified for the study. MRIs were conducted and one hip in each participant was examined for cam-type deformities, labral lesions, signs of cartilage damage and impingement pits.

Researchers detected 67 definitive cam-type deformities in study participants with these men having higher body mass index and decreased internal rotation. Labral lesions were detected in 85% of participants with cam-type deformities and in only 67% of those without the deformity. Labral avulsions were found in 76% of participants with the deformity and 58% of those without. In participants with cam-type deformity versus those without, impingement pits were observed in 30% and 12%, respectively.

The authors report an adjusted prevalence of 24% for cam-type deformities in the study population along with a high frequency of signs of joint damage. The signs of joint damage found in participants could be an outcome in the sequence from normal to osteoarthritic hips, they suggest. "Our study is the first population-based MRI study to confirm the role of cam-type deformities of the hip as a potential risk factor for joint damage," concluded Dr. Reichenbach. "Longer-term studies are needed to determine if cam-type deformity increases risk of developing hip OA."

More information: "Association Between Cam-Type Deformities and MRI Detected Structural Damage of the Hip: A Cross-Sectional Study in Young Males." Stephan Reichenbach, Michael Leunig, Stefan Werlen, Eveline Nüesch, Christian W Pfirrmann, Harald Bonel, Alex Odermatt, Willy Hofstetter, Reinhold Ganz and Peter Jüni. Arthritis & Rheumatism; Published Online: September 8, 2011 (DOI: 10.1002/art.30589).

Provided by Wiley (news : web)

There is a water scene that I really like painted in 1940. I don't know whose smile is bigger, the one in the painting or the one on my face every time I look at it. Still, they are a joy to behold. It was painted in 1988 by Reverend Howard Finster and is done in vibrant colors and also depicts the buildings in the market like an ice cream parlor and the Hotel Van Nuys. If she could kick the ball they way she liked to kick me in the knee, I'd see to it she played for my team every time. Now we're very close.There is a subcategory of folk art paintings since I was a child.One of my favorite paintings was done in 1962 by Bill Dodge. She favors animal prints, and I found one that depicts leopards and gave it to her for her birthday.One of the most famous American artists is Thomas Chambers. One of my favorites that she had was done by John Roeder. It's called Alligator Fisher and I'm thinking about getting because it reminds me of my cajun heritage, most of my family is from Louisiana. It's of a swamp house on a bayou and has a Louisiana feel to it. It's a beautiful painting but it's just too depressing to hang anywhere. It's called First Trolley to Van Nuys and shows the center of a town filled with people..Another painting that I admire is called Howard in 1944. It's too bad my parents didn't let her play football with the boys and I used to tease her relentlessly and pull her pigtails.....

The authors believe that a gene in this region is involved in the development of asthma. Stephan Reichenbach from the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Bern in Switzerland. Medical evidence reports that hip OA is a major cause of pain and disability, and accounts for more than 200,000 hip replacements in the U.1002/art. "Longer-term studies are needed to determine if cam-type deformity increases risk of developing hip OA." More information: "Association Between Cam-Type Deformities and MRI Detected Structural Damage of the Hip: A Cross-Sectional Study in Young Males. A new study reveals that the presence of an underlying deformity, known as cam impingement, is associated with hip damage in young men without any arthritis symptoms and detected using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).They compared the genomes of thousands of asthma patients with individuals who do not have asthma across several populations and identified two genetic mutations that were strongly linked to asthma risk.A drug used today to treat rheumatoid arthritis might be effective in treating asthma symptoms after two genetic variants have been found to increase asthma susceptibility, researchers from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia and others from around the world reported in The Lancet. MRIs were conducted and one hip in each participant was examined for cam-type deformities, labral lesions, signs of cartilage damage and impingement pits. Given that no specific gene in this region has been directly implicated in allergic disease previou. Full findings are now published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).The authors wrote:"At this stage it is unclear which gene underlies the association with 11q13. The signs of joint damage found in participants could be an outcome in the sequence from normal to osteoarthritic hips, they suggest. "Given that cam-type deformities are common in young I don't particularly care for his art. I personally don't have any of these in my collection, since I like to collect pieces that I can relate to. It's of a swamp house on a bayou and has a Louisiana feel to it. It's called First Trolley to Van Nuys and shows the center of a town filled with people. One of my favorites that she had was done by John Roeder. If she could kick the ball they way she liked to kick me in the knee, I'd see to it she played for my team every time.One of the most famous American artists is Thomas Chambers.There is a subcategory of folk art paintings that depict the world of black Americans. It's pretty funny to me that when we were growing up, she'd cry because she wasn't allowed to play football with the boys and I used to tease her relentlessly and pull her pigtails whenever I got the chance.There is a water scene that I really like painted in 1940. Maybe it's because I spent a lot of time with my grandmother and her house was full of them.One of my favorite paintings was done in 1962 by Bill Dodge. I don't know whose smile is bigger, the one in the painting or the one on my face every time I look at it. It's called Alligator Fisher and I'm thinking about getting because it reminds me of my cajun heritage, most of my family is from Louisiana. I have a friend who collects these and I found one of a woman reclining in a hammock. It's a beautiful painting but it's just too depressing to hang anywhere. Still, they are a joy to behold. She favors animal prints, and I

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A drug used today to treat rheumatoid arthritis might be effective in treating asthma symptoms after two genetic variants have been found to increase asthma susceptibility, researchers from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia and others from around the world reported in The Lancet. The scientists found that cytokines - genes associated with signalling molecules that are involved in how the immune system functions - are involved in the development of asthma.

The authors explained that the causes of asthma have for long been poorly understood, in spite of several attempts to locate the genetic variants. Some recent GWAS (genome-wide associated studies) have only managed to locate some candidate genes which appear to have a slight effect on asthma risk. They have not fully explained the heritability of asthma, which leads doctors and scientists to believe that many genetic variations are involved.

Manuel Ferreira and an international team of experts set out to determine what genetic variations might be responsible for higher asthma risk by carefully examining all current GWAS and expanding on them.

They compared the genomes of thousands of asthma patients with individuals who do not have asthma across several populations and identified two genetic mutations that were strongly linked to asthma risk.

The genetic variants were:

  • rs4129267 in the interleukin-6 receptor (IL6R) gene, and
  • rs7130588 on chromosome 11q13.5
Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a cytokine. A cytokine is any substance that is secreted by some immune system cells that have an effect on other cells. Interferon, interleukin, and growth factors are examples of cytokines. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) plays a major role in immunity response and inflammation - it is involved in the way diseases develop (pathogenesis), including rheumatoid arthritis. The expression of the IL-6 receptor is increased by the rs4129267 risk variant. Consequently, the researchers believe that medications that inhibit the receptor should be tested in clinical trials to see how effective they are at reducing asthma-associated airway inflammation.

The drug tocilizumab is an example of a medication that blocks the receptor. It is already approved for rheumatoid arthritis treatment.

A high proportion of atopic (allergic) asthma patients were found to have the rs7130588 variant on chromosome 11q13.5. Interestingly, it was correlated with a nearby variant which has been recently associated with atopic dermatitis risk.

The authors believe that a gene in this region is involved in the development of allergic sensitisation, which raises allergic asthma risk.

The authors wrote:

"At this stage it is unclear which gene underlies the association with 11q13.5. Given that no specific gene in this region has been directly implicated in allergic disease previou. sly, further characterisation of this region of association is likely to discover novel molecular mechanisms involved in the causality of eczema, atopy, and asthma."


So far, no single genetic cause has been located which is responsible for over 1% of asthma heritability, the authors added. Their findings demonstrate that asthma is a complex condition, and most likely several genes of small effect combine and interact with environmental risk factors in driving asthma risk.

The scientists concluded:

"Our results are consistent with the contribution of hundreds or potentially thousands of variants with weak effects on asthma risk, which can be identified through larger GWAS as already shown with other diseases."


Kathleen Barnes, from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA, in a Comment in the same journal wrote:

"Success in the validation of various candidates (and their pathways) that are already on the asthma shortlist of potential causal genes, and the biological insight to be gained from the novel findings in this report are grounds for optimism in the continuation of the GWAS approach. Combination of GWAS with next-generation technologies will undoubtedly further help to disentangle the molecular underpinnings of complex traits such as asthma."


Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

  • Additional
  • References
  • Citations

Hip impingement (femoracetabular impingement) may be a risk factor of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip. A new study reveals that the presence of an underlying deformity, known as cam impingement, is associated with hip damage in young men without any arthritis symptoms and detected using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Full findings are now published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

Medical evidence reports that hip OA is a major cause of pain and disability, and accounts for more than 200,000 hip replacements in the U.S. each year. Cam impingement limits full range of motion in the hip socket due to boney bumps on the femoral head. The cam-type deformity causes hip pain as the bump moves inside the socket, applying extreme pressure to cartilage and may eventually lead to OA in the hip. Studies have shown that cam impingement is often seen in young male athletes referred to orthopedic specialists after experiencing groin pain, and hip rotation is found to be diminished.

"Given that cam-type deformities are common in young asymptomatic males, we examined whether the deformities were associated with early signs of MRI detected hip damage," explains lead author Dr. Stephan Reichenbach from the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Bern in Switzerland. The researchers recruited participants from a population-based group of male individuals enrolling in the Swiss army at a single recruiting center. A total of 244 males with a mean age of 20 years reported having no hip pain and were qualified for the study. MRIs were conducted and one hip in each participant was examined for cam-type deformities, labral lesions, signs of cartilage damage and impingement pits.

Researchers detected 67 definitive cam-type deformities in study participants with these men having higher body mass index and decreased internal rotation. Labral lesions were detected in 85% of participants with cam-type deformities and in only 67% of those without the deformity. Labral avulsions were found in 76% of participants with the deformity and 58% of those without. In participants with cam-type deformity versus those without, impingement pits were observed in 30% and 12%, respectively.

The authors report an adjusted prevalence of 24% for cam-type deformities in the study population along with a high frequency of signs of joint damage. The signs of joint damage found in participants could be an outcome in the sequence from normal to osteoarthritic hips, they suggest. "Our study is the first population-based MRI study to confirm the role of cam-type deformities of the hip as a potential risk factor for joint damage," concluded Dr. Reichenbach. "Longer-term studies are needed to determine if cam-type deformity increases risk of developing hip OA."

More information: "Association Between Cam-Type Deformities and MRI Detected Structural Damage of the Hip: A Cross-Sectional Study in Young Males." Stephan Reichenbach, Michael Leunig, Stefan Werlen, Eveline Nüesch, Christian W Pfirrmann, Harald Bonel, Alex Odermatt, Willy Hofstetter, Reinhold Ganz and Peter Jüni. Arthritis & Rheumatism; Published Online: September 8, 2011 (DOI: 10.1002/art.30589).

Provided by Wiley (news : web)