With some exceptions, medical science rarely cures anything outside of some infectious diseases and a few types of cancer. Hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, hypothyroidism, alzhiemer's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis are all conditions that are very common yet incurable at this point.

The horizon of medical science is full of new technologies like gene therapy, immunotherapy, and tissue transplants. Drugs do not seem to be on the cutting-edge future of medicine. Can the deterioration and degeneration of the joint be cured by these new bio-technologies? Time will tell.

When someone asks me for a magic-bullet drug to cure what ails him/her, I often times will ask that person: What are you doing to cure yourself? So much of what ails people can be minimized if not cured by healthier habits. Instead, many choose to drink the soda, smoke the cigarettes, eat the sweets, and fail to exercise hoping for a drug to reverse or cancel the unhealthy habits.

Because osteoartritis is first and foremost a condition caused by inflammation in the joint and because most people find themselves in a pro-inflammatory state, the starting point for any cure to osteoarthritis has to be through better nutrition, an Anti-Inflammatory Diet. Try Cooking to Control Pain.

And that's the best news, no need to wait for a new drug or technology, feeling better is a close as the grocery store and the kitchen for those willing to change.

Dr. Christina Lasich, MD

Connie53

9/16/10 5:52pm

OK, perhaps I should have phrased it differently.  Most arthitis drugs are just for pain.  Rheumatoid arthritis has some companies working on anti-inflammatories and immunology drugs that are not pain killers, but are focused on the inflammation that causes the pain.

 

For osteoarthritis there are medical devices that replace the joints (made from metals and plastics), there are biologics companies that replace the cartilage with replacement parts made by various techniques and which may use other mammals' parts or grow them from your own body, and there are a few companies that have found some drugs which work on the root of the problem, either small molecule or protein/gene/stem cell based.

 

I'm wondering if anyone here knows the names of this last group.

Thanks!

V, Health Guide

9/19/10 10:25pm

Hi, Connie.  I have read a little about some new therapy where they take the patient's blood, do something with it, and reinject it back into the knee or whatever joint that is in trouble. I think they call it PCP therapy.

 

Personally, I am very interested in this new procedure. I would be interested in any info you may run across, also.

 

I eat a healthy diet of lean meat, vegetables and fruit. I have lost 30 lbs trying to help out my joints.  This has been a long road, since I am only able to walk or swim for exercise. I work full time, so finding time to drive to a town w/an indoor pool is pushing the envelope. That being said, I still have generalized osteoarthritis, Erosive Inflammatory Osteoarthritis and Fibromyalgia. I take a lot of medicine, and would love to find a therapy other than pills and surgery.

 

Please let us know if you find the answer to your question. 

V, Health Guide

9/19/10 10:37pm

Connie, I was wrong. It is called PRP therapy. Check out drjamesbaum.com.