Orthopedic News for Patients

Fast Facts

• Studying twins has proven very helpful in examining the genetic and environmental influences that may cause rheumatic disease.
• Ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis appear to have identifiable genes that play a substantial role in passing the disease to a child.
• Recent findings are leading to new knowledge about the causes of arthritis diseases that could potentially lead to new treatment strategies in the future.
• The clustering of multiple and different autoimmune diseases is observed frequently in the same families, suggesting existence of shared susceptibility genes among these diseases.