Would you be surprised to learn that rheumatoid arthritis affects women three times as often as men? Unlike osteoarthritis, which is the result of wear and tear on the joints over time, rheumatoid arthritis is actually an autoimmune disorder.
In those with this disorder, the immune system attacks the body, specifically the joints, causing severe pain and inflammation for sufferers. Because of the dangers inherent to suppressing the immune system and the fact that only three of the genes responsible for rheumatoid arthritis have been successfully targeted with medications, many of the available treatments are more focused on suppressing symptoms for quality of life reasons. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of these types of treatments is touch-and-go, and many of the medications have the potential to cause liver damage or other health issues.
However, researchers in the UK have identified more of the genes responsible for rheumatoid arthritis, and the discovery hinged on the fact that women get this disorder so much more often than men do. In the process of identifying the problematic genes, it seems the researchers discovered that many of them reside in the X chromosome.
The scientists – working from The University of Manchester – added 14 more genes to the list of 32 that were already known to potentially make patients more susceptible to rheumatoid arthritis. What makes this discovery so promising is its potential to lead to more segmenting of the different genetic types of rheumatoid arthritis, and therefore help scientists discover more effective, targeted treatments.
Another detail that makes this study so interesting, and promising, is the sheer amount of data involved. DNA samples from over 27,000 subjects were used.
Women’s health topics are often focused on the more obvious differences in the genders, like anatomy and hormone production, but rheumatoid arthritis is different because, while there has been evidence in the past that hormonal considerations could play a part, this discovery points to a possible deeper link.
The research opens up a potential hope for women of all ages who suffer from this often-debilitating condition. Since, genetically speaking, the X chromosome is literally what makes women women, the OB/GYN field will be watching this one as closely as the rheumatologists.
