Embedded Files
average, people with OA related knee pain suffer for 13 years before receiving knee replacement surgery, and — due to an aging population — the number of these procedures performed each year continues to grow. A major risk factor for OA is knee injury. Falls, collisions and other types of knee injuries often result in an inflammatory response that accelerates the onset of OA. Physician-scientist Adam Yanke, MD, PhD, is looking to determine what surgeons can do to maintain a healthy knee environment after an injury and if arthritis progression can be stopped in its tracks. In pilot research studies published this year, Dr. Yanke (pictured below) and his colleagues proved that patients recovering from a knee injury who received an injection of healthy, donor-supplied synovium — the soft tissue in the knee joint that lubricates and nourishes the cartilage — had less inflammation and a more expeditious recovery. With philanthropic support, the research team plans to take this innovative research to the next level. Dr. Yanke, who earned his PhD in biochemistry, looks to further evaluate the mechanisms of knee repair after injury and pursue the development of new treatments, such as injections that can be administered at the time of knee injury to accelerate cartilage recovery and maximize repair. Collaborating to Understand Childhood Obesity's Effect on Osteoarthritis Risk In addition to their own leading-edge research into kinematics and kinetics of natural and artificial joints, researchers in the Joan and Paul Rubschlager Motion Analysis Laboratory partner with researchers across Rush to advance multidisciplinary studies. Markus Wimmer, PhD, the Grainger Director of the Rush Arthritis and Orthopedics Institute, leads the lab and serves as an expert resource to numerous co-investigators with research questions involving gait and movement. In 2018, Dr. Wimmer collaborated with a group of researchers in the Department of Preventive Medicine to better understand the effect of childhood obesity on walking and increased risk for osteoarthritis. Children ages 6-11 — some with a health body mass index, or BMI, and some with a BMI considered overweight/obese — were brought through the state-of-the-art laboratory. Numerous measurements were collected to understand the forces being exerted on each child’s joints. Preliminary results show that children with a higher BMI exhibit movement patterns that are associated with increased risk of osteoarthritis in adults. Interestingly, the researchers found evidence suggesting that losing weight doesn’t necessarily eliminate these learned gait patterns. This collaborative project was funded through donor support, and the researchers will be using the findings from this pilot study to apply for additional grant awards. Celebrating Dr. Bush-Joseph, Elevating Research and Education Opportunities for Orthopedic Trainees In his three decades of practice, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon Charles BushJoseph, MD, has earned gratitude and admiration from scores of patients. His patient- centered philosophy has improved quality of life for thousands of women and men overcoming orthopedic injuries. As the associate director of the Rush orthopedic sports medicine fellowship program for 27 years, Dr. Bush-Joseph (pictured below) has imparted this philosophy upon dozens of young physician mentees. In 2018 grateful patients established The Charles Bush-Joseph Endowment for Sports Medicine Education to celebrate his legacy and support the next generation of expert physicians. Now a fully-vested endowment at Rush University, this fund will begin to provide sustainable resources for sports medicine research, enabling scientists to pursue independent research, present findings at national and international conferences, and gain exposure to leading-edge treatment techniques. Uncovering the Mechanisms and Origins of Joint Pain Preventing osteoarthritis, or OA, and devising new methods to slow its progression are promising areas of research at Rush and other major universities. However, for patients suffering from advanced OA, breakthroughs are desperately needed to help them find relief from their pain symptoms. In fact, scientists’ understanding of OA pain, its mechanisms and origins, remains surprisingly limited. The laboratory of Anne-Marie Malfait, MD, PhD, the George W. Stuppy, MD, Chair of Arthritis, is advancing leading-edge research into OA pain. Dr. Malfait, a longtime scientist at Pfizer, argues that better treatments for OA are dependent on a clear understanding of how the condition causes pain — an objective that isn’t simple, since cartilage has no neurons to transmit pain signals. To answer this question, Dr. Malfait’s lab has developed a unique rodent model to study OA pain and test novel pain-relieving treatments. In Dr. Malfait’s model, the mice receive surgery to destabilize the knee. After eight weeks, these mice begin to show signs of OA pain, such as changes in their locomotion, decreased climbing, traveling, etc. Using a strain of mice who have been genetically modified to express a red fluorescent protein, Dr. Malfait and her team can visualize the neurons and pain pathways in an unprecedented manner. With this unique model, the lab made a breakthrough finding last year when they identified a peptide called 32-mer that is produced when cartilage
Google Sites
Report abuse