A
study in mice showed that air pollution is a risk factor for rheumatoid
arthritis.
Air
pollution is an aggravating risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis, according to
a study published in the medical journal Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences (PNAS). The conclusions were obtained on mice.
Researchers
at the University of Michigan in the United States conducted a study to
understand whether there was a link between rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic
inflammatory joint disease and environmental factors such as pollution. This
pathology affects about 1% of the population, especially women between 40 and
60 years old.
During
the study, scientists observed the association between the HLA gene and other
environmental pollutants such as air pollution. However, the HLA gene has
already been noted as a risk factor for smokers to develop this disease in a
more severe form, with greater pain and bone degeneration.
The
researchers have isolated dioxin, a toxic pollutant from the hydrocarbon
family, resulting from industrial processes but also vehicles and highway
traffic as a risk factor for an autoimmune disease, multiple sclerosis.
“We
have found a particular enzyme acting as a “channel in the cell” bringing the
HLA gene into contact with dioxin. The two culprits would therefore walk
together to do more damage, including bone destruction,” said Dr. Joseph
Holoshitz, professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan, author
of the study.
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