(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Kitchen Table Kibitzing: Osteoarthritis [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-09-26 After months of waiting, I finally started PT for my knees Monday. They sent me home with six exercises to strenghten my quads, calves, and back, along with instructions to get to the gym and cycle for 10 minutes and use and abductor/aductor machine. Tomorrow I head in for xrays and October 8 I have an appointment for a MRI because the orthopedist thinks my spine might be causing the problems I am having with mobility. That coupled with osteoarthritis, the third most common disease in the country, affecting nearly one in six people globally. The knee pain makes it really difficult to walk up and down stairs and the first orthopedist I saw recommended advil or aleve, neither of which did any good. I have come to the conclusion that our pets have access to better treatments for arthritis than we do! And its a very common problem, with dogs, just as with people: Some 80% of dogs over age eight and 35 percent of dogs of all ages have arthritis, Aggie gets monthly injections of adequan, and daily does of galliprant and movoflex. She’s 12 and is as agile as she was five years ago. And when you convert her dog years to people years she is significantly older than I am. Why, for example, isn’t there. something like this for people? Librela works by neutralizing NGF [nerve growth factor] in the joint, essentially shutting down the pain pathway and lowering the overall amount of NGF produced. “It reduces how many signals are going to the brain saying, ‘Hey, this hurts,’” said Katie Bennett, an anesthesia and pain management specialist at the Veterinary Specialty Center in Bannockburn, Ill. It also helps alleviate swelling, which causes discomfort.www.washingtonpost.com/... The good news is that research continues in finding ways to deal with osteoarthritis. The New Scientist reported earlier this year on a promising possibility for humans which has been used in studies with mice. Drug-delivering nanoparticles might help treat osteoarthritis. In mice with signs of the condition, a single injection of the particles relieved pain for months. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting about 530 million people worldwide. It occurs when the cartilage cushioning bones breaks down, causing joint stiffness and pain. Treatments for the condition are limited, and none of them prevent cartilage degeneration. And researchers in Colorado are working on a project which in five years might find the way for arthritic joints to heal themselves. At the first inkling of a creaky knee, patients could get a single shot in the joint that would not only stop their cartilage and bone from eroding, but kick start its regrowth. In more advanced cases, that shot might also deliver a biomaterial repair kit to patch holes in tissue. If multiple joints ached, an annual IV infusion could ferry regenerating therapies to all of them at once. Novel NSAIDS The world of NSAIDs has undergone significant changes with the introduction of new drugs that provide improved pain relief. Arthritis patients can now benefit from medications such as aspirin, celecoxib, and diclofenac, which target COX-2 to reduce the production of eicosanoids responsible for pain and inflammation. These advancements in NSAID development have been made possible by scientific breakthroughs leading to innovative mechanisms of action, a better understanding of NSAID-induced stomach issues, and hybrid formulations. Despite their similarities in side effects with traditional NSAIDs, these novel medicines aim to offer increased protection against adverse reactions while still providing effective pain relief. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/9/26/2272686/-Kitchen-Table-Kibitzing-Osteoarthritis?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/