Cure For Arthritis “Coming”

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31881, 8 January 1969, Page 12

Cure For Arthritis “Coming”

Research scientists working in London believe they have found the cause of rheumatoid arthritis, says the information section of the British High Commission in New Zealand.

As a result of their work a cure for this illness has now been brought appreciably closer. A spokesman for the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council said in London: “We do not want to raise any false hopes among sufferers from the disease, but we can safely say that a cure is coming. We don’t know when—there are many trials and tests still to be done—but the results of the latest research are exciting.” The spokesman said it was doubted whether the final discovery of a cure would come about this year. But he

was confident that a cure was on the way, “because of the vast concentration of research now being conducted into this disease."

Developments in the search for a cure to arthritis have resulted from intensive research at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in Hammersmith.

The research team, part of the cellular biology division, has been investigating the leakage of enzymes from tiny sacs in the joints of persons suffering from arthritis. Enzymes are chemicals produced by, and often controlling processes in, the living cell. They are extremely potent, often in minute quantities. The Kennedy Institute scientists have found that enzymes in arthritis sufferers are leaking from the weak walls of the sacs, allowing the chemical to attack the cartilage in the joints. In their quest for a cure, the Kennedy Institute

Research workers sought a means of strengthening the apparently weakened sac walls, thus preventing the enzymes from attacking the cartilage.

They undertook unique experiments involving techniques in microscopic biochemistry which enabled accurate measurements of the chemical activity of an individual cell. These involved, for instance, making measuring devices about a million times more sensitive than in conventional micro-biochemistry. These new techniques showed certain kinds of joint tissue in arthritis patients contained an excess of hydrogen, which accounted for the weakness of the ceil walls. The scientists then set about finding a way of rectifying the weakness of the walls. Trials were made with two substances special forms of the two vitamins— C and K 3. Both were found

to correct and strengthen the cellular walls. “We must stress that this has worked only on tissue kept alive outside the human joint,” said a spokesman for the council. “Only one injection has been given to a patient, and there is no significance in the result of that. We still have to run clinical trials.”

Dr Joseph Chayen, head of the cellular biology division at the institute, said: “The fina'l proof will be to establish that, if you change the tissue hydrogen you reverse and correct the damaging process in the patient. We shall not know whether this is possible until further work is undertaken.” The council said it was not prepared to put any limit on the time needed to complete the research. “The main thing is that we are finding out about the basic mechanism of what causes the disease.”