Did you know?

There are over 100 different forms of arthritis, with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis being the most common. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease that primarily affects the joints. This painful and disabling condition is caused by the immune system attacking the normal tissue of the joints, causing an inflammatory response. Over time, cartilage and bone destruction can occur, resulting in the joint becoming deformed and immobile. It is not fully understood why the immune system attacks seemingly healthy tissue, although it is thought to be a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Diamantina’s research into rheumatoid arthritis

Although rheumatoid arthritis usually occurs between the ages of 25 to 55 years of age, it can occur at any age, even affecting children as young as three.

Researchers in the Dendritic Cell Biology Group at the Diamantina Institute study the activation of a certain type of immune system cells, called dendritic cells, and the role they play in causing autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. They are investigating how autoimmune diseases come about and how to develop more specific and less toxic therapies which utilise the body’s own dendritic cells.

Led by Professor Ranjeny Thomas, the researchers discovered a mechanism that enabled them to turn off the progression of the disease once it had already started. The molecular control mechanism re-educates the immune system. This major discovery has led to the development of a rheumatoid arthritis vaccine, known as Rheumavax, which is currently in phase I clinical trials at the Diamantina Institute. The vaccine consists of dendritic cells, grown in the lab from the blood of the patient to be immunised; and an antigen relevant to the disease.

Rheumatoid arthritis doubles a person’s risk of having a heart attack. The Dendritic Cell Biology Group is investigating factors influencing the development and progression of cardiovascular disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Patients have undergone measurements to determine how quickly vascular disease develops and whether or not cholesterol-lowering medicine is effective in slowing the progression of cardiovascular disease. This clinical trial is still underway.

Another research group at the Diamantina Institute is investigating what genes are involved in the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Professor Matt Brown and his team in the Musculoskeletal Genetic Group are looking at the genes of people from different ethnic groups. Because of the major differences in the genetic makeup of white Europeans and Han Chinese, these studies have the potential to identify genetic effects not observed in Europeans, and to assist in pinpointing key disease associated variants.

More information

For more detailed information about the research that is being done in the Dendritic Cell Biology or Musculoskeletal Genetic Groups, click on the links. For more information about rheumatoid arthritis, we recommend you visit the Arthritis Australia website.