RA miracle cures that aren't

[Guest guest]

I have to agree that it's rather frustrating to read about a drug,

etc. that will make our RA essentially disappear. And it's also

frustrating to hear people confusing RA with OA. I ran across this

Washington Post article that does both...

A Shoe That Prevents Arthritis? Just Do It.

By Abigail Trafford

Tuesday, December 5, 2006; HE06

I put on a pair of sneakers and walk around the room in the division

of biomechanical engineering at Stanford University. The sneakers are

a cool go-go white with the Nike logo. They look like the real Nike;

they feel like the real Nike. But they are actually experimental

shoes in disguise -- specially manufactured by Nike for a study aimed

at thwarting the onset of arthritis in the knee.

A shoe to prevent arthritis? Imagine the potential market: millions

of boomers with creaky knees lining up to wear this golden sneaker

for the golden years!

In its various forms -- principally osteoarthritis and rheumatoid

arthritis -- the ailment is projected to affect an estimated 67

million Americans by 2030, according to the National Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention. The most common site of arthritis is

in the knee. For many middle-aged men and women, wrapping the knee

with a bandage and popping pain relievers are daily habits. For

others, knee surgery is a rite of passage in America's Fitness

Culture, the medical gateway to staying active and playing sports in

one's 50s, 60s and beyond.

I keep pacing the room. I can't tell the difference between my

experimental Nikes and the off-the-shelf model. But the experimental

shoe is designed to change the way I walk and thus reduce stress on

the knee. The sole of the sneaker is thicker and stiffer on the

outside, which causes the foot to roll inward so the body sways back

and forth with each step.

" Remember Charlie Chaplin, " says P. Andriacchi, professor of

mechanical engineering and orthopedic surgery at Stanford, who is in

charge of the study -- that goofy, swaying walk from long-ago black-

and-white movies. " If you walk like Charlie Chaplin, you'll reduce

the loading on the knee, " he says. And that, he continues, can

prevent degeneration of the knee.

So far, roughly 80 men and women have enrolled in a study to test the

shoe. Average age is mid-50s. All the participants have early signs

of arthritis, but their symptoms are not so severe as to warrant

surgery. The experiment is a placebo-controlled, double-blind study --

meaning that half the people are wearing regular Nikes and half are

wearing the experimental design, and no one knows who has which.

Participants must wear the experimental shoes (or the look-alike

placebos) every day. At the end of the study, they will be

interviewed to see whether there is a reduction of symptoms in the

experimental group. They also will be reevaluated with sequential

magnetic resonance imaging of the knee to see whether those wearing

the shoe had slower thinning of cartilage. Results of the study will

be available in about a year.

The experiment is an example of a new trend in medicine: to find low-

tech and behavioral ways to maintain strength and fitness of body and

mind. I like the shoe and think to myself: What an easy way to stave

off a debilitating disorder. But first a note of caution: Final

results may be disappointing; the effect on the knee may not be

significant. Yet the commercial appeal of an anti-arthritis shoe

would be huge: an estimated 25 percent of the adult population.

But Nike, the trend-setter in athletic shoe chic, is not interested

in developing a commercial version of the shoe at this time. Even

though Nike worked with the researchers on the project and donated

220 pairs of test sneakers to the study, it has decided not to

explore the shoe's potential development. As Nike spokeswoman

Shoul explained in a statement: " This was a one-off project and not

something that we are currently pursuing. "

Maybe the problem is image. In a culture rooted in youth, most mass-

market companies, from car manufacturers to film producers, want a

youthful brand that appeals to a young (18-49) audience.

Too bad! There's plenty of market growth in the 50-plus crowd.

According to the Nike philosophy, " If you have a body, you are an

athlete. " That's true at 20, and at 80. ?

Comments:mytime@....