arthritis
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Gene editing could lead to a vaccine for arthritis
Right now, arthritis treatment tends to be an all-or-nothing proposition: the drugs you take affect your entire body, causing havoc with your immune system and leaving you prone to infections. But how do you narrow the treatment to just those areas where you feel pain? Genetics, apparently. Researchers have used CRISPR gene editing to turn stem cells into cartilage that releases a biological anti-inflammatory drug when they encounter inflammation. It not only limits treatment to the affected area, but responds only when there's a pain flare. You only get relief when you need it.
Apple entices its first big drug company to ResearchKit
Although Apple's ResearchKit is almost two years old, the platform has mainly been reserved for clinical studies hosted by universities and medical researchers. Hundreds of thousands of people are already contributing data for studies focusing on asthma, diabetes, breast cancer, autism, epilepsy and melanoma, but now drugmakers are getting in on the act. Almost a year after it said it was readying studies using Apple's health data-collecting tool, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has confirmed the launch of a new research app to help monitor patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Osteoarthritis simulation suit demoed in Britain
While we've seen an assortment of suits, ranging from the HAL cyborg suit to the iPod suit, we haven't yet seen a set of threads that will simulate the effects of a disease for the wearer. In honor of World Arthritis Day (October 12), Loughborough University's Ergonomics and Safety Research Institute has just produced an osteoarthritis suit to give journos, doctors and others an insight into this debilitating disease. The suit, which costs £20,000 (over $37,000), is "designed to constrict movement and inflict topical pain with its 'ouch pouches' – sharp, nobbly, grating or hot packs which press into the wearer during a range of activities," according to the British organization Arthritis Care. Still, we're a bit curious as to whether wearing the Bionicare Hand Device under this suit cancels out the pain.[Via MedGadget]
