Researchers from the University of California, San Diego are experimenting with targeting the central nervous system in an attempt to control immune and inflammation response in RA and OA. Using a rat model with RA, they found the could successfully decrease inflamation and destruction of joint tissue by injecting substances into the spinal cord thereby inhibiting the signal from the brain that induces inflammation and immune response. The basis for this is simple. By inhibiting immune signals from the brain, inflammation and destruction in the joints should decrease. The only problem I find with this is isolating a specific pathway and not affecting another. It is known that many physiological signaling pathway cross-talk with one another.
They inhibited TNF alpha, which is responsible for the continuious and ongoing symptoms involved in the desctruction of joint tissue, and found that sypmtoms decreased. However, TNF alpha has many roles in other instances of inflammation and immune response. These other "roles" can ultimately be inhibited and cease to protect and organism from potential harm from disease and in instances were the inflammatory response and immunce response is critical.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Out of curiosity, I am wondering if you know what substances injected into the spinal cord are composed of?
Also, because this procedure works when injected into the spinal cord, I wonder if it might also work if directly injected into the neurons surrounding the joint. If the procedure still worked in this situation, perhaps the necessary roles of TNF alpha throughout the rest of the body would not be inhibited.
Post a Comment