Therapeutic Areas of Interest

Arthritis

An estimated 43 million Americans have been diagnosed with arthritis or similar painful joint conditions, reports the Centers for Disease Control, making it one of the nation’s most prevalent chronic health problems and a leading cause of disability.

In 2004, one of the most common classes of drugs used to treat arthritis, the COX-2 inhibitors, came under a cloud for their possible role in cardiovascular disease. As several drugs were taken off the market, and frightening warnings were added to others, millions of arthritis sufferers found themselves without the medications they’d come to depend on to relieve their pain.
 
Arthritis isn’t just 1 disease; it’s a complex disorder that comprises more than 100 distinct conditions and can affect people at any stage of life. Two of the most common forms are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis .

These 2 forms have very different causes, risk factors, and effects on the body, yet they often share a common symptom-persistent joint pain. The joint pain of arthritis can appear as hip pain, knee pain, hand pain, or wrist pain, as well as joint pain in other areas of the body

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis in the United States, affecting an estimated 21 million adults. OA begins with the breakdown of joint cartilage, resulting in pain and stiffness.  OA commonly affects the joints of the fingers, knees, hips, and spine. Other joints affected less frequently include the wrists, elbows, shoulders, and ankles. When OA is found in a less-frequently affected joint, there is usually a history of injury or unusual stress to that joint.  Work-related repetitive injury and physical trauma may contribute to the development of OA.  

 Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can affect many different joints and, in some people, other parts of the body as well, including the blood, the lungs, and the heart.  Inflammation of the joint lining, called the synovium, can cause pain, stiffness, swelling, warmth, and redness. The affected joint may also lose its shape, resulting in loss of normal movement. RA can last a long time and can be a disease of flares (active symptoms) and remissions (few to no symptoms).