Puwadol Jaturawutthichai/Shutterstock Arthritis is usually associated with older people but kids can suffer too. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common type of arthritis in children. It affects about about 1 in 1,000 kids under 16 in the UK (roughly 15,000 children), and causes joint pain and inflammation in the hands, knees, ankles, elbows and wrists – although it can affect other body parts, too. There’s no cure for JIA. Pain can be managed through treatments to ease symptoms, reduce pain and swelling, and prevent joint damage. Medications such as immunosuppressant methotrexa ..read more

Shutterstock One in three Australians has a musculoskeletal condition involving joint pain, and the most common cause is arthritis. Around 3.6 million Australians have arthritis and this is projected to rise to 5.4 million by 2030. For some people with joint pain, cold weather seems to make it worse. But temperature is just one factor impacting perceptions of greater pain during winter. Other factors include those we have some level of influence over, including sleep, behavioural patterns, mood and physical activity. Emerging research suggests greater pain levels in winter may also be related ..read more

Knowing how to talk to kids about healthful eating is key. MI PHAM/Unsplash In the past two decades, children have become more obese and have developed obesity at a younger age. A 2020 report found that 14.7 million children and adolescents in the U.S. live with obesity. Because obesity is a known risk factor for serious health problems, its rapid increase during the COVID-19 pandemic raised alarms. Without intervention, many obese adolescents will remain obese as adults. Even before adulthood, some children will have serious health problems beginning in their preteen years. To address these i ..read more

Rheumatoid arthritis leads to painful joint inflammation, often in the hands and wrists. Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank via Getty Images Rheumatoid arthritis affects 1 in 100 people worldwide. It causes inflamed, painful and swollen joints, often in the hands and wrists, and can lead to loss of joint function as well as chronic pain and joint deformities and damage. What causes this condition has been unknown. In our recently published study, my colleagues and I found an important clue to a potential culprit behind this disease: the bacteria in your gut. What causes rheumatoid arthritis? Rheumat ..read more

The transition from the supportive world of pediatric care to the adult system can be challenging for teens learning to manage chronic health conditions on their own. Shutterstock Living with severe inflammatory arthritis or any other serious condition of the joints, bones and muscles is challenging for anyone, perhaps most of all for children. Young patients often experience pain, swelling and stiffness in many joints, which can limit their day-to-day activities. Kids and teens with chronic conditions, particularly those caused by autoimmune disorders like inflammatory arthritis, face special ..read more

Shutterstock Arthritis is a disease that affects body joints. There are more than 100 types of arthritis, with more than 350 million people affected around the globe, including about four million Australians. Arthritis causes pain and disability and commonly reduces quality of life. In Australia in 2015, about 54,000 people aged 45–64 couldn’t work due to severe arthritis. Their median income was only a quarter of the income of full-time workers who did not have arthritis. So it is not surprising some people want to try different diets, supplements or therapies to see if they alleviate symptom ..read more

Physical therapy – which can include small jumps, stretches, massage, heat therapy and even water exercises – can help manage arthritis in dogs. Manu Vega/Monument via Getty Images Otis was our bighearted bloodhound, whom we loved dearly. He had an active life playing with our three other dogs and going for long walks every morning and evening with us. But when he was 8 years old, his lifestyle completely changed. He experienced a knee injury that required surgery, and he later developed osteoarthritis from that injury. As faculty members at the Mississippi State University College of Veterina ..read more

People suffering from long-term effects of COVID-19 face uncertainty about the nature of their symptoms and how long they might last. Halfpoint Images/Moment via Getty Images My first patient that day was a woman in her early 40s, an avid marathon runner who had contracted COVID-19 in March 2020. Now, 13 months later, she noted that she still felt fatigued and short of breath. She also noticed her heart was racing whenever she walked around. She reported having daily headaches, numbness and tingling in her legs, and difficulty with memory, which had affected her work. This woman was coming in ..read more

"The Gout", by James Gillray. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY I awoke one morning late last year to find a bright red bauble at the foot of my bed. It wouldn’t have looked amiss adorning a Christmas tree. But it felt ready to explode. It was my big toe, and this was my first encounter with gout. In good company With a history spanning more than 4,500 years, gout is among our earliest recorded diseases. Hippocrates, traditionally regarded as the father of medicine, called it “the unwalkable disease”, because it was very painful for people with gout to walk. Many famous historical figures suffered with ..read more

The World Health Organisation has suspended the use of hydroxychloroquine in a global drug trial. George Frey/AFP via Getty Images There are many examples in history of drugs that have been repurposed for different diseases. One such drug is chloroquine, which was and is still used for malarial treatment. It has been repurposed as an anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and, most recently, as an anti-viral drug. Chloroquine was first produced in 1934, and widely distributed to soldiers who were training or stationed in malaria hot spots during World War II. By 1945, the drug became the standard re ..read more