Some joints may be primed for rheumatoid arthritis before birth - Science Daily

A facial mass detected before birth prompted the early delivery of identical twin sisters. A fetal MRI at 33 weeks showed the mass on one baby's face. When the sisters were born a week later, tumors were found in both. Two children had the same cancer, raising a question that their shared beginnings alone could not answer. Had the disease started separately in each sister, or had cancer cells crossed from one to the other before birth? Researchers turned to a record hidden within their cells. DNA changes, accumulated as their bodies developed, allowed the team to reconstruct events that had happened months before anyone saw a tumor. The study in Nature Communications shows that the cancer began in one sister and passed to the other in the womb, most likely through a single transfer late in the second trimester. The same investigation uncovered clues to how the sisters themselves had formed. The two girls, Amelia and Amaya, died soon after birth. Their family consented to post-mortem examinations for research. The authors dedicate the study to the sisters, whose mother wanted them acknowledged by name.

A minimally invasive procedure that targets abnormal blood vessels in the knee could provide lasting relief for people struggling with osteoarthritis, offering a potential alternative to joint replacement surgery. In a study involving 194 patients, researchers found that a treatment using tiny particles that dissolve within hours was associated with substantial reductions in knee pain and improvements in mobility. The benefits persisted for at least 12 months, with 80% of patients assessed at the one-year follow-up reporting clinically meaningful pain relief.

What if easing knee arthritis pain did not require another pill, an injection, or surgery, but simply changing how you walk? A clinical trial published in The Lancet Rheumatology suggests that a small, carefully chosen adjustment to the angle of your feet could make a meaningful difference. After one year, participants who learned to walk with a personalized foot position reported significantly less knee pain than those receiving a placebo treatment. They also showed encouraging signs of slower deterioration in their knee cartilage.