Did you know that more than 40% of people who suffer significant ligament or meniscus tears or similar joint injuries will develop osteoarthritis?  Wow!  Conversely, more than 12% of patients with osteoarthritis in their lower extremities (eg. knees) have a history of joint injury, say researchers in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research (June 2011).  One member of Dr. Guilak’s research team shared that they are testing the introduction of a specific TNF-blocker immediately after acute injury to see if it will lessen the risk of developing osteoarthritis later.  He shares that the research looks promising.

If you’d like to follow research coming out of Dr. Guilak’s Duke laboratory, check out PubMed.gov.  

Lisa Emrich is author of the blog Brass and Ivory: Life with MS and RA and founder of the Carnival of MS Bloggers.