A treatment for acne and joints together!!!

A treatment for acne and joints together!!!

A team of scientists searching for new treatments for osteoarthritis of the hand has reached a promising new breakthrough during trials of a drug originally developed to treat acne and psoriasis.

Scientists were also able to discover that the drug can prevent the development of osteoarthritis of the hand in laboratory animal models, and they are currently working on humans to confirm its potential as a new clinical treatment, according to what was published by New Atlas, citing the journal Science Translational Medicine.

retinoic acid

The research was conducted by scientists at the University of Oxford, who set out to study common variants in a gene called ALDH1A2 that has been linked to severe hand OA. The researchers confirmed this link by drawing on data from the UK Biobank Study, and then obtained articular cartilage from 33 OA patients while they were undergoing surgery.

These samples were also studied alongside experimental models, which enabled the team to identify a specific molecule that was particularly low in high-risk individuals. The molecule is called retinoic acid, and it's made by the ALDH1A2 gene. Through RNA sequencing, the researchers were able to detect a correlation between genetic variants, low retinoic acid, and inflammation seen in OA.

Acne and psoriasis

The researchers then turned to a drug called Talarozole, which was developed to inhibit the metabolism of retinoic acid to treat acne, psoriasis and related skin conditions. When used in the knee joints of mouse models, the drug was able to reduce cartilage injury and inflammation after six hours. The results were also replicated in ex vivo porcine joints.

Osteoporosis and chronic pain

Dr Neha Essar-Brown, co-author of the study and Director of Health Research at Oxford University, said: “The study is still at an early stage, but with these encouraging results, we are one big step closer to being able to develop a new class of modifying drugs to treat osteoporosis. and arthritis.”

Because talarozole has an acceptable safety profile in humans, scientists are pinning high hopes for a smooth path to clinical use. They conducted another small proof-of-concept study to see if these initial results could be replicated, laying the groundwork for a new treatment approach to OA.

biological targets

Also, Dr. Essar-Brown added, “There is an urgent need for disease-modifying therapies designed to prevent or reverse the painful symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. This study reveals a new understanding of the causes of osteoarthritis of the hand, which could lead to the identification of new biological targets for intervention within the reach of OA."