Air pollution is believed to be an aggravating risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis, according to the results of 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, 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.
A link between pollution and rheumatoid arthritis
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 noticed as a risk factor for smokers to develop this disease in a more severe form, with greater pain and bone degeneration.
The researchers isolated dioxin, a toxic pollutant from the hydrocarbon family, resulting from industrial processes but also from vehicles and motorway 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 greater damage, including bone destruction, ”explained Dr. Joseph Holoshitz, professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan, author of the study.
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