If this is not your name, click here.
| | If this is not your name, click here. | | |
| | Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague | | |
| |  Researcher Links Back Pain to Disabling Arthritis TORONTO, April 2, 1997 -- The way doctors diagnose and treat people with chronic back pain may change after this week's Medicine report research program funded by The Arthritis Society. Rheumatologist Dr. John Esdaile's team of researchers have found that diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) - traditionally considered a minor ailment - may actually be a disabling form of arthritis. "These patients are now told there's nothing wrong with them because their x-rays appear normal to the untrained eye,'' said Dr. Esdaile, director of research at The Arthritis Society's British Columbia and Yukon Division. "Meanwhile they're enduring incredible pain.'' In fact, x-rays of DISH patients are not normal. Dr. Esdaile estimates 11 of 12 people who suffer from DISH receive either the wrong diagnosis, or no diagnosis at all. "The x-rays are very distinct,'' added Dr. Esdaile. ``But it's sort of like looking at a painting - you won't notice some vital aspect until someone points it out, then you can't believe you ever missed it. "Because DISH doesn't fit with what the radiologists look for, they don't see it or report it,'' he said. Arthritis affects four million Canadians. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting 2.3 million, or one-in-10 Canadians. Dr. Esdaile said DISH may be the second-most-common type of arthritis. Before this study, fibromyalgia was considered the second-most-common form of arthritis, affecting three-in-100 Canadians. The study compares patients with DISH to healthy subjects and those with lumbar spondylosis, a degenerative back disease. People with DISH suffered from more neck and back pain, difficulty swallowing, nerve abnormalities and difficulty moving their necks and backs. "DISH is clearly a distinct disorder with signs and symptoms that distinguish it from other causes of spinal complaints and from healthy individuals. It has the potential to cause major disability.'' Dr. Esdaile and his colleagues believe that DISH is also one of the few forms of arthritis to affect more men than women. While it's been nearly 100 years since scientists first described DISH, this study is the first to show its considerable significance in the medical community. "We have shown a tremendous need to educate rheumatologists, from front-line physicians and radiologists as to the frequency of the disease and the tell-tale signs of it,'' said Dr. Esdaile. ``Now that we've separated it from the pack - it is its own disease - we need to research the causes and find out how to help these patients.'' Dr. Esdaile hopes his team's research will change that as the medical community learns how to diagnose DISH through x-ray of the thoracic (mid-back) spine.
|
