This severe degeneration causes pain, swelling, deformation and reduced range of motion. Traditionally osteoarthritis has been connected to aging, obesity and repeated mechanical joint stress. Predisposing factors ch as trauma or inherited abnormalities are also known to trigger degenerative changes and cause secondary osteoarthritis at even younger ages. New research is beginning to shed light on how osteoarthritis develops at the cellular and molecular levels. Evidence is accumulating that the culprits may be factors called cytokines together with enzymes that break down the collagen trix.
Cytokines are proteins that carry messages between cells and regulate immunity and inflammation.
They have been found in elevated levels in both the synovial membrane, the synovial fluid and the cartilage of osteoarthritis patients. Rheumatoid arthritis Unlike osteoarthritis, RA is a so-called autoimmune disease, characterized by chronic inflammation and thickening of the synovial lining in addition to cartilage destruction. In autoimmune diseases the immune system attacks body tissues as if they were foreign invaders. As in most other chronic inflammatory diseases, the etiology and pathogenesis of RA is poorly understood. Contributing factors are thought to include food allergies, leaky gut syndrome, hereditary factors and microbes.