A new study identifies beneficial therapies to combat osteoarthritis. The study however, points to an underlying mechanism of aging, whose habits if not contrasted, facilitate the onset of the disease.
In fact, scheduled exercise, regular meals and periodic warming and cooling of the joints could relieve the symptoms.
The discovery also pointed out a finding of a 'body clock' in cartilage cells. This switches genes that control tissue functions on and off. That also explains why the sufferers of the disease have symptoms at certain times of the day more than others.
Therefore, establishing an artificial body rhythm could ameliorate the conditions and reset the clock, so to speak. And example would be to raise the temperature about two degrees at 12 hours intervals. After just three cycles, researchers observed that the body clock in the cells had been reset. This therapeutic discovery is believed to have the potential to greatly enhance the effect of whatever medications are available for treatment of the disease at this time.
Circadian rhythms, or sleep patterns, also play a crucial role. Since circadian patterns are disrupted in old age, keeping regular hours both for sleeping and meals has an effect on the cell's 'body clock'.
Source : Science Daily 6.12.13
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