Earlier this year a pretty important discovery was made by scientists regarding osteoarthritis.  The discovery was the link between loss of protein due to age and the development of osteoarthritis.  This new discovery has REALLY opened the door for producing new (and even more effective) treatments for osteoarthritis.  Which would be great considering there’s not really all that much true for the degenerative part of OA.

In the study, scientists showed how the loss of the protein HMGB2, which is found in joint cartilage, will develop to the broad deterioration of that cartilage – resulting in the well known osteoarthritis.  HMGB2 is uniquely dispatched on the surface layer of the cartilage in joints where it supports the survival of chondroncytes; which are the cells that produce and maintain cartilage.  Aging is very much related to the loss of HMGB2 with an accompanying reduction or complete elimination of chondroncytes in the superficial zone.

By breeding mice to be genetically deficient in HMGB2, scientists further proved the link between HMGB2 and osteoarthritis.  They all had an earlier and more severe onset of osteoarthritis.

So, what does this mean for us?  Well, it could end up not meaning much for us, but it could definitely lead to better treatment, like I said earlier, and maybe even a cure one day.