Health News
New test to diagnose osteoarthritis early
August 20th, 2008
A newly developed medical imaging technology may provide doctors with a long-awaited test for early diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA), scientists are reporting. By far the most common form of arthritis, OA is a bane of the Baby Boom generation, causing joint pain and disability for more than half of those over 65 nearly 21 million people in the United States. Current diagnostic methods usually do not catch the disease until OA is in advanced stages when joint damage may already have occurred. A method for early diagnosis could open a window of opportunity for preventing or reducing permanent damage especially with evidence that dietary supplements like glucosamine and chondroitin can halt further joint degeneration, says scientist Alexej Jerschow.
"Our methods have the potential of providing early warning signs for cartilage disorders like osteoarthritis, thus potentially avoiding surgery and physical therapy later on," states Jerschow. "Also, the effectiveness of early preventative drug therapies can be better assessed with these methods."
AD SOURCE: American Chemical Society.
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