Finally, change is coming to the medical community’s view of osteoarthritis(OA). Although maybe slowly. For years it was considered to be a wear and tear disease that had no treatment. Ibuprofen and other NSAIDs were the only remedy. Eventually, when the joint deteriorated extensively, a replacement would be considered.

Research had been done on the use of biologics with OA without success. So, there has been no treatment other than palliative  because there was none known.

Although it has been understood for years that synovial inflammation is a feature of OA, more compelling research has been done in this last decade. Research has been done using improved MRI and ultrasound technologies. The researchers learned that the swelling and inflammation of synovitis contributed to the destruction of the joint. And to avoid or reduce this destruction, new therapies need to be found.

The synovial membrane is the tissue that lines all moveable joints, bursa, and most tendons. It  is this very tissue that is affected by rheumatoid arthritis(RA). Our immune system sees synovial tissue as foreign and  targets it for destruction.

It is nice to see progress on osteoarthritis research. Most of us with RA have some OA too.