Possible breakthrough for Lyme and rheumatoid arthritis severity

[beaverfury]

http://www.kutv.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_8971.shtml
KUTV) A scientific breakthrough that could change the lives of those suffering from Lyme disease and rheumatoid arthritis as researchers at the University of Utah's Department of Pathology identifies a gene deficiency that makes individuals susceptible to developing severe inflammatory arthritis.

I'm sorry, i don't know how to embed the video. If your'e science minded you may prefer to read the Journal of Clinical Investigation article.

Lysosomal β-glucuronidase regulates Lyme and rheumatoid arthritis severity http://www.jci.org/articles/view/72339

C3H mice expressing WT Gusb as a transgene were protected from severe Lyme arthritis. A known GUSB function is the prevention of lysosomal accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Development of Lyme and rheumatoid arthritis in Gusbh-expressing mice was associated with heightened accumulation of GAGs in joint tissue. We propose that GUSB modulates arthritis pathogenesis by preventing accumulation of proinflammatory GAGs within inflamed joint tissue, a trait that may be shared by other lysosomal exoglycosidases.

 

[Thinktank]

Is lysosomal Beta-glucuronidase in their study somehow related to Beta-glucuronidase enzyme extracted from stool?
I have lyme's and my genova CDSA 2.0 stooltest shows i have a deficiency in the Beta-glucuronidase enzyme.

 

[beaverfury]

Is lysosomal Beta-glucuronidase in their study somehow related to Beta-glucuronidase enzyme extracted from stool?
I have lyme's and my genova CDSA 2.0 stooltest shows i have a deficiency in the Beta-glucuronidase enzyme.

From my brief wiki reading- It's the same enzyme, but has another function in the gut of converting conjugated bilirubin to unconjugated form for reabsorbtion.
I don't know what the implications are from your genova test. Do you have elevated bilirubin?

Elsewhere in the body beta glucuronidase breaks down glycosaminoglycan, a polysaccharide which resides in the lysosome of every cell. The lysosome is apparently like the waste disposal unit of a cell. (It can also digest viruses and bacteria).

The research above is looking at the accumulation of glucosaminoglycan in the joints.

Someone with some actual knowledge of this field might like to add something

 

[beaverfury]

I do hope this research represents something new and promising.

Just found this article from- 1954! http://www.jci.org/articles/view/103079/files/pdf

They had already made a link between beta glucuronidase and rheumatic arthritis back then. Swift progress !!

 

[Aileen]

I do hope this research represents something new and promising.

Just found this article from- 1954! http://www.jci.org/articles/view/103079/files/pdf

They had already made a link between beta glucuronidase and rheumatic arthritis back then. Swift progress !!

Ah yes, another case of modern medicine coming down with "Reinventing the Wheel Syndrome"

Why does the medical establishment bother with publishing and keeping papers when it seems no one bothers to read them? "publish or perish"? It's more like "publish and watch the paper perish"!!!

I vote to create a new job: medical librarian. Every hospital and research institution should have one.

If a researcher has an idea to look into something, the medical librarian can delve into the mountains of published literature to find out what is already known so the person can build on that, not rediscover it.

It is so basic. Yet it keeps happening. How can people so highly educated be so _______________ . (If someone can find a polite way to finish that sentence, be my guest. I got nothin')