科学家们试验治疗关节炎的新方法

Scientists Test New Treatment for Injuries that Produce Arthritis¹

American researchers are looking for new ways to reduce arthritis pain.

Arthritis is known to affect older people. Over time, the joints³ of the body suffer damage and become inflamed⁵. The condition has also been found to affect younger adults who suffer knee or ankle injuries.

Now, University of Iowa scientists are using new methods for treating arthritis with existing medicines. They hope to target individuals who develop the condition shortly after an injury.

In tests, the scientists injected the medicines directly into the damaged joints. The hope is that the treatment will then block the cycle of cell dysfunction that follows an injury, and protect against arthritis.

The scientists have yet to carry out experiments with people. They used pigs instead because the animals’ joints react like human ankles.

Filling in a need

The United States Defense⁶ Department and National Institutes of Health provided⁷ money for the University of Iowa study.

The Associated Press says the scientists are now seeking financial support for human studies. The tests are part of an effort to understand why an aggressive form of arthritis can develop after some injuries, such as a broken bone in a joint², seem to have healed⁸.

“It’s very promising,” said Farshis Guilak, a regenerative medicine specialist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He said there are no treatments right now for any form of arthritis that has been able to affect the disease⁹.

Guilak was not involved in the study.

Osteoarthritis is the most common kind of arthritis. It usually happens when cartilage, which protects the joints, wears away over many years of use. Yet about 5.6 million people in the U.S. get post-traumatic osteoarthritis, which strikes much faster. This condition comes from injuries to weight-bearing joints, like knees and ankles.

People who suffered knee injuries are three to six times more likely to develop arthritis in that joint than other people who have never been injured. They are also more likely to get arthritis about 10 years earlier. That information comes from a report published last year in The Journal¹⁰ of Athletic¹¹ Training.

Interrupting the process

In the Iowa study, the researchers made several observations about what happens to cartilage after an injury. They found that only some cartilage cells die immediately after the injury. But over the next 48 hours, more cells die and others begin to work less effectively.

Inside cells are tiny power plants, called mitochondria. Somehow, joint injuries causes the mitochondria inside cartilage cells to become overactive and produce substances called oxidants.

Mitchell Coleman was the lead researcher in the University of Iowa study. He noted¹² that, “if you can interrupt that early process, whatever is going on with those mitochondria in the first day, you can have a… benefit to the tissue¹³ itself.”

In the tests, Coleman and his team used two old drugs: amobarbital, a calming drug known to limit energy production in cells, and an antioxidant named N-acetylcysteine.

To avoid body-wide side effects, the researchers created a form of the drug that is liquid while being injected, but becomes solid at body temperature. They injected one or the other drug into the pigs’ broken joints, both after the injury and again one week later.

Each drug separately helped protect cartilage, the team reported this month in the journal Science Translational Medicine. A year later, the cartilage in the treated animals appeared stronger that that in the untreated pigs. The treated animals also showed no signs of pain.

The scientists say additional¹⁴ research is needed to tell if the treatment works¹⁵ in people.

For now, people who have had joint injuries should get treatment for the injury and keeping up exercise, said Lisa Cannada, a spokesperson for the American Academy¹⁶ of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

I’m Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

antioxidant - n. a substance that is added to food and other products to prevent harmful chemical reactions in which oxygen is combined with other substances?

bear - v. to accept or endure¹⁷?

cartilage - n. a strong but flexible material found in some parts of the body (such as the nose, the outer ear, and some joints)?

cycle - n. a set of events or actions that happen again and again in the same order?

dysfunction - n. the state of being unable to function in a normal way?

inflame⁴ - v. to cause (a part of your body) to grow sore, red, and swollen¹⁸?

ligament - n. a tough piece of tissue in your body that holds bones together or keeps an organ in place?

oxidant - n. an oxidizing agent.?

plants - n. a building or factory where something is made

1 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

4 inflame   

v.使燃烧；使极度激动；使发炎

参考例句：

• Our lack of response seemed to inflame the colonel.由于我们没有反应,好象惹恼了那个上校。
• Chemical agents manufactured by our immune system inflame our cells and tissues,causing our nose to run and our throat to swell.我们的免疫系统产生的化学物质导致我们的细胞和组织发炎，导致我们流鼻水和我们的喉咙膨胀。

5 inflamed   

adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His comments have inflamed teachers all over the country. 他的评论激怒了全国教师。
• Her joints are severely inflamed. 她的关节严重发炎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

8 healed   

v.（使）愈合( heal的过去式和过去分词 )；治愈；（使）结束；较容易忍受

参考例句：

• The surgeon healed the soldier's bullet wound in the leg. 医生治好了那位士兵腿部的枪伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The doctor applied an unguent to the wound,which speedily healed it. 医生给伤口涂了些油膏，伤口很快就愈合了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

10 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。

11 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 tissue   

n.组织；薄纱，薄纸，手巾纸

参考例句：

• As we age we lose muscle tissue.肌肉组织会随着我们日趋衰老而萎缩。
• Athletes have hardly any fatty tissue.运动员几乎没有什么脂肪组织。

14 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

15 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

16 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。

17 endure   

vt.忍受(痛苦、困难等)，耐住

参考例句：

• If other people can endure hardship,why can't I? 人家能吃苦，我就不能？
• You can only guess at what mental suffering they endure.你只能猜测他们忍受着多大的精神痛苦。

18 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。