FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Are Mom and Pop Responsible for Your Aching Knees?

A collaboration between Clearwater researchers and a college in the UK could find the answer

Clearwater, Florida – Clearwater’s Arthritis Research Institute of America (ARIA) is partnering with Kings College in London on a groundbreaking project to study osteoarthritis (OA), the “wear and tear” form of arthritis that affects 27 million Americans older than 50.

ARIA’s database contains information about OA from more than 3,700 study subjects over the course of two decades. Its Clearwater Osteoarthritis Study was modeled after the famous Framingham Heart Study that outlined the risk factors for heart disease.

Kings College will use ARIA’s database to study the role that heredity plays in whether adults develop OA later in life. ARIA study participants who agree to send DNA samples will take part in the Kings College project. Those who volunteer will receive swab kits to provide DNA samples from saliva.

“We are proud of this partnership with Kings College, which considered our extensive database to be a one-of-a-kind source of information about OA,” said Frances Vaughn Wilder, PhD, ARIA’s executive director. “OA research revolves around two areas:  wearing and tearing joints and the role of heredity. This project will contribute to our knowledge about the role of heredity on OA.”

The project is called Treat-OA (Transitional Research in Europe Applied Technologies for Osteoarthritis, http://www.treatoa.eu/) and is funded by the Seventh Framework Programme, the European Union’s chief instrument for funding research during 2007-2013. ARIA is receiving $25,000 from the consortium to fund its DNA collection project. ARIA participants who choose to take part in the DNA study will remain anonymous in the Kings College study.

Since 1988, the Arthritis Research Institute of America (ARIA) has been studying thousands of participants to learn more about osteoarthritis.  The 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit research organization is based in Clearwater, FL, but its findings have been published worldwide.  ARIA’s x-ray database is globally acknowledged as one of the most complete sources of information about the progression of osteoarthritis. For information, call (727) 461-4054.

Contact:
Michele M. Barrett
michelebarrett@gmail.com
300 S Duncan Ave
Suite 188
Clearwater, FL 33755
(727) 461-4054
(888) 554-2742