Quote:
Originally Posted by kiwi33
Mskari85, for a long time RA and OA have been thought of as separate conditions - the immune system is involved in RA but not in OA.
However, this is a bit simplistic - immune system proteins, notably some of the complement proteins, seem to be involved in the inflammatory response in OA - see Identification of a central role for complement in osteoarthritis.
I don't know if this has led to improved therapy but it is something that you could discuss with your rheumatologist. |
Kiwi I've read this link and found it very interesting. I believe methotrexate has been used to treat people with OA to good effect over the past few years so this makes sense of the inflammatory overlap.
Re the role played by compliment in autoimmunity - I did just want to ask if you know what the significance of my raised C3 and C4 might be? I asked a GP who said probably my severe yeast infection but I'm not convinced. I know that these compliments are usually significantly low rather than high with Lupus but have got no further with my research into raised compliment levels. Could it relate to OA do you know?