类风湿性关节炎探源
路透社纽约健康消息 墨西哥的研究人员通过对类风湿关节炎患者的化石遗体及其生活环境的研究，否认了类风湿性关节炎是由病毒感染所引起的观点。
类风湿关节炎是一种对称性多关节慢性炎症性疾病，严重时会导致关节畸形，目前还不明确该病的发病原因，也没有什么有效的治疗方法。以往有专家认为，类风湿关节炎先在地球的一个地方发生随后又传播至其他地方。他们查阅了以前的医学文献资料及考古学方面的证据，发现了历史上许多疾病的记载可能就是类风湿关节炎。分析表明：在全球好几个地方，这种病已存在了上千年了，这是一种古老的疾病。
例如，根据一份同时代的详尽的描述，罗马君王康斯坦丁九世(公元980-1055年)好像得的就是类风湿关节炎；从公元前6500-450年居住在田纳西州河沿岸的美国本土居民的骨骼中发现了与类风湿关节炎相类似的畸形迹象；另外在墨西哥发现的可追朔到公元1400-1550年的21具骨骼中同样也发现了类似于风湿性关节炎的至畸现象；一位冰岛的医生在1782年描述了类风湿性关节炎：常见于女性，患者多为四十岁左右。
, http://www.100md.com
直到1800年欧洲医学界才正式确认类风湿性关节炎。研究者认为，十九世纪的人们之所以认为类风湿性关节炎是一种新的疾病是因为当时人的寿命很少有超过四十岁的，而风湿性关节炎的发病年龄大多在四十岁以上。
研究人员认为，风湿性关节炎的形成没有一个单一的原因，环境条件与个人遗传基因组成相互作用可能是发病的重要因素之一。通过对不同患区的历史及环境的调查，可以为该病的病因探索提供宝贵的资料。但这种调查研究需要大量的经费，和一支包含各种学科专业人员的团队，例如医师、自然人类学家，历史学家，考古学家，生物学家等。虽然很昂贵，但是值得。
摘自：《风湿病学杂志》2001;28:751-757
Researchers Trace Roots of Rheumatoid Arthritis
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an ancient disease, although the condition was not recognized by European ``official medicine‘‘ until the 1800s, Mexican researchers report. And studying the fossil remains of people with the disease, along with their environmental surroundings, could help investigators learn more about the development of RA and other immune-system-related conditions, the authors note.
, 百拇医药
RA, in which the joints become inflamed and painful, is an often-disabling condition that occurs when the immune system turns against the body. The cause of RA, which may actually be several different diseases, is unknown, and there is no effective treatment.
``Even today, RA is still difficult to define,‘‘ Francisco Javier Aceves-Avila of the Hospital General Regional and colleagues write in a recent issue of The Journal of Rheumatology.
, http://www.100md.com
Some experts have proposed that the disease is the result of a viral infection and has spread outward from a single location, the authors note. ``Thinking of RA as born in one place with a subsequent worldwide spread is tempting but hard to sustain,‘‘ they observe. Instead, their analysis suggests the disease has been with us for thousands of years, in several different regions around the globe.
Aceves-Avila and colleagues reviewed medical literature, art, and archeological evidence and found many reports of a disease that is probably RA.
, 百拇医药
For example, the Roman emperor Constantine IX, who lived from 980 to 1055, appears to have had RA, according to a detailed contemporary description. An Icelandic doctor described RA in 1782, noting that it was more common in women and most often struck people around the age of 40.
And abnormalities identical to those seen in RA have been found in skeletons of Native Americans living along the Tennessee River dating from 6500 to 450 BC. Another 21 skeletons found in Mexico, dating from 1400 BC to 1550 AD, also were found to have RA-like deformities.
, 百拇医药
One reason why RA was considered a ``new disease‘‘ in the 1800s, the researchers suggest, was that people rarely lived beyond their 40s, when the disease generally first develops.
There is probably no single cause for the development of RA; instead, environmental factors interact with an individual person‘s genetic make-up, Aceves-Avila told Reuters Health.
Investigating the history and environment of the various areas where RA has been found could provide a valuable--but expensive--way to track down the various factors that influence the development of RA, he added.
, 百拇医药
``This is unfortunately not being done these days, to my notice. It would consume a great budget, because it should be done by a multidisciplinary team comprising physicians, physical anthropologists, historians, archeologists, biologists, etc. It would be expensive but rewarding,‘‘ Aceves-Avila said.
SOURCE: The Journal of Rheumatology 2001;28:751-757., 百拇医药
类风湿关节炎是一种对称性多关节慢性炎症性疾病，严重时会导致关节畸形，目前还不明确该病的发病原因，也没有什么有效的治疗方法。以往有专家认为，类风湿关节炎先在地球的一个地方发生随后又传播至其他地方。他们查阅了以前的医学文献资料及考古学方面的证据，发现了历史上许多疾病的记载可能就是类风湿关节炎。分析表明：在全球好几个地方，这种病已存在了上千年了，这是一种古老的疾病。
例如，根据一份同时代的详尽的描述，罗马君王康斯坦丁九世(公元980-1055年)好像得的就是类风湿关节炎；从公元前6500-450年居住在田纳西州河沿岸的美国本土居民的骨骼中发现了与类风湿关节炎相类似的畸形迹象；另外在墨西哥发现的可追朔到公元1400-1550年的21具骨骼中同样也发现了类似于风湿性关节炎的至畸现象；一位冰岛的医生在1782年描述了类风湿性关节炎：常见于女性，患者多为四十岁左右。
, http://www.100md.com
直到1800年欧洲医学界才正式确认类风湿性关节炎。研究者认为，十九世纪的人们之所以认为类风湿性关节炎是一种新的疾病是因为当时人的寿命很少有超过四十岁的，而风湿性关节炎的发病年龄大多在四十岁以上。
研究人员认为，风湿性关节炎的形成没有一个单一的原因，环境条件与个人遗传基因组成相互作用可能是发病的重要因素之一。通过对不同患区的历史及环境的调查，可以为该病的病因探索提供宝贵的资料。但这种调查研究需要大量的经费，和一支包含各种学科专业人员的团队，例如医师、自然人类学家，历史学家，考古学家，生物学家等。虽然很昂贵，但是值得。
摘自：《风湿病学杂志》2001;28:751-757
Researchers Trace Roots of Rheumatoid Arthritis
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an ancient disease, although the condition was not recognized by European ``official medicine‘‘ until the 1800s, Mexican researchers report. And studying the fossil remains of people with the disease, along with their environmental surroundings, could help investigators learn more about the development of RA and other immune-system-related conditions, the authors note.
, 百拇医药
RA, in which the joints become inflamed and painful, is an often-disabling condition that occurs when the immune system turns against the body. The cause of RA, which may actually be several different diseases, is unknown, and there is no effective treatment.
``Even today, RA is still difficult to define,‘‘ Francisco Javier Aceves-Avila of the Hospital General Regional and colleagues write in a recent issue of The Journal of Rheumatology.
, http://www.100md.com
Some experts have proposed that the disease is the result of a viral infection and has spread outward from a single location, the authors note. ``Thinking of RA as born in one place with a subsequent worldwide spread is tempting but hard to sustain,‘‘ they observe. Instead, their analysis suggests the disease has been with us for thousands of years, in several different regions around the globe.
Aceves-Avila and colleagues reviewed medical literature, art, and archeological evidence and found many reports of a disease that is probably RA.
, 百拇医药
For example, the Roman emperor Constantine IX, who lived from 980 to 1055, appears to have had RA, according to a detailed contemporary description. An Icelandic doctor described RA in 1782, noting that it was more common in women and most often struck people around the age of 40.
And abnormalities identical to those seen in RA have been found in skeletons of Native Americans living along the Tennessee River dating from 6500 to 450 BC. Another 21 skeletons found in Mexico, dating from 1400 BC to 1550 AD, also were found to have RA-like deformities.
, 百拇医药
One reason why RA was considered a ``new disease‘‘ in the 1800s, the researchers suggest, was that people rarely lived beyond their 40s, when the disease generally first develops.
There is probably no single cause for the development of RA; instead, environmental factors interact with an individual person‘s genetic make-up, Aceves-Avila told Reuters Health.
Investigating the history and environment of the various areas where RA has been found could provide a valuable--but expensive--way to track down the various factors that influence the development of RA, he added.
, 百拇医药
``This is unfortunately not being done these days, to my notice. It would consume a great budget, because it should be done by a multidisciplinary team comprising physicians, physical anthropologists, historians, archeologists, biologists, etc. It would be expensive but rewarding,‘‘ Aceves-Avila said.
SOURCE: The Journal of Rheumatology 2001;28:751-757., 百拇医药