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The role of fatty acids in the management of osteoarthritis
October 1st 2004Osteoarthritis is a chronic and potentially debilitating disease involving the disruption of metabolic homeostasis within the articular chondrocyte. Specifically, osteoarthritis involves an increased ratio of cartilage-degrading enzymes (matrix metalloproteinases, or MMPs) to their normal inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). It is the imbalance of TIMPs and MMPs that contributes to the pathologic breakdown of cartilage. Dietary fatty acids can help to correct this imbalance by modulating the production of inflammatory mediators.
Weight loss increases ground reactive force in overweight dogs with osteoarthritis
October 1st 2004A comprehensive weight-loss program that returns overweight dogs to optimal body weight and body condition can improve osteoarthritic dogs' ability to move more normally. In a study conducted at Texas A&M University, moderately overweight to obese dogs lost weight through a combination of a weight-management diet and increased exercise. Based on force-plate gait analysis, the dogs exerted significantly more force on each limb and moved more quickly. The abstract below, published in the proceedings of the 2000 Purina Nutrition Forum, provides additional details.
Osteoarthritis and diet: Joined at the hip
October 1st 2004Osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease, is the most prevalent joint disorder in dogs, affecting as many as 20% of adult dogs. Osteoarthritis is associated with inflammation and increased degradation or loss of proteoglycans from the extracellular matrix, resulting in a morphologic breakdown in articular cartilage.
