A Joint Disorder: Arthritis

Arthritis is a joint disorder characterized by joint inflammation

. There are more than 100 types of arthritis, osteoarthritis being the most common, especially in old age. Other well-known and common conditions include rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout and ankylosing spondylitis. According to recent epidemiology research in EE. UU., people from hispanic and afroamerican origin have twice as much risk as caucasians of developing musculoeskeletal disorders like arthritis, and this is the main cause of chronic pain & disability in this population segment. These joint disorders are also more common amongst women, especially after menopause, when the protective effect of estrogens on bone density diminishes due to hormonal changes.

Biotechnology is changing many areas of our lives, and it is only a young discipline. Most conventional pharmaceutical drugs are synthetic products, chemical compounds that, through trial and error, have shown their effectiveness to treat symptoms and conditions. Biotech drugs are completely different. They are biological substances, much more complex and large molecules, like proteins, created by living cells. In the last two decades, biotechnology has helped develop trascendental breakthroughs in the treatment (often directed to the underlying cause of a disease, less to its symptoms) of conditions like arthritis and other musculoeskeletal disorders, cancer, hepatitis and cardiovascular problems.

Only in the EE. UU. more than 900 new biotechnological drugs are being developed. Their clinical benefits are clear. Apart from their effectiveness in addressing traditionally "difficult" diseases (those for which there was no available effective therapy) they allow health professionals to personalize treatment, and also help to avoid complications derived from conventional interventions and the use of synthetic medication. The usual problem with new pharmacological products that appear after costly research is their own cost: most biotech drugs are still too expensive. But in the long run, a prompt diagnosis and the use of these medicines for treatment reduce the overall cost of illness, so many Public Health Systems are interested in having biopharmaceuticals at their patients' disposal as soon as possible.

Arthritis usually involves limitations in daily function, caused by chronic pain and the fact that it tends to appear in hands and/or feet, making most daily tasks difficult or impossible to perform. Many patients stop being physically active, gain weight, get depressed, and suffer subsequent health problems, like high cholesterol or cardiovascular issues. There is also significant research addressing chronic pain, and a pharmacological solution to this incredibly disabling symptom would really come in handy for arthritis patients.

by: Maria Gonzales

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