Do bacteria cause chronic polyarthritis?

Article Abstract:

Many studies tried and failed to isolate a causative organism in the joints of people with chronic polyarthritis, a disease characterized by inflammation in several joints. Some infections, originating elsewhere in the body, seem to be related to the onset of polyarthritis. Two theories on the cause of this phenomenon are proposed. One is that an infection at a remote site in the body stimulates an immune response which causes antibodies (cells that fight infection) or other cells to cross-react with a component in joint tissue. The other theory states that after a bacterial element penetrates a mucosal membrane it is carried to joints where it initiates its own local response causing inflammation of the tissue. It has been reported that antigens (disease-causing cells) of Yersinia bacteria were found in the joint fluid of patients with polyarthritis following Yersinia enterocolitica infections. Criticism of these findings is expressed because the bacterial material found in the joint fluid was only found in cells with a short life. Patients who were found to have Yersinia bacteria antigen in the joint fluid four weeks after their original infection had no Yersinia cells six months later, despite their persistent polyarthritis. This suggests that the bacteria need not be present to continue causing symptoms. It is possible that the reaction continues as a result of a cross reaction with a component in the joints. This study renews the interest in the role infection plays in the development of arthritis.

Research, Complications and side effects, Infectious arthritis, Yersinia infections, Bacterial antigens, O antigens, editorial, Granfors, Kaisa

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A defective beta-cell glucose sensor as a cause of diabetes

Article Abstract:

Most forms of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) are characterized by insulin resistance and impaired pancreatic beta cell function. Maturity-onset diabetes mellitus of the young is a form of NIDDM characterized by reduced insulin production rather than insulin resistance. It is usually diagnosed in individuals between 10 and 20 years old.A research study found that mutations in the gene for glucokinase occur in some families with maturity-onset diabetes of the young. Sixteen different types of mutations were found. Glucokinase is involved in the metabolism of glucose in both beta cells and the liver, and in the regulation of blood levels of glucose. A deficiency of glucokinase caused by a genetic mutation may cause hyperglycemia.

Editorial, Type 2 diabetes, Pancreatic beta cells

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SIDS - a syndrome in search of a cause

Article Abstract:

There is little progress in identifying a particular cause or causes of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), given the difficulty of identifying the features of a sudden infant death that make it classifiable as SIDS. The cause of SIDS is not all that remains unknown about this syndrome; a clearer, more identifiable presentation and more precise definition would also be helpful.

Infants, Infant mortality

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