Genes not a factor in RA? | Arthritis Information

I'm findng all sorts of interesting stuff today. Check out this study of RA in twins Interesting article. I wish they expanded on what the possible "environmental" causes could be. Interesting!

I have RA, as does my cousin (my mums sisters daughter). We both developed it around the same time, 5 years ago; she was 32, I was 25.

People (even med professionals) always ask us if we are absoloutely SURE theres no RA in the family at all...there isnt! Goodness knows where it has come from, but it certainly isn't genetic. Theres no sort of arthritis in our familiy at all, or any autoimmune condition.

ERM....yeah, interesting article (sorry, I seem to have gone off on a tangent!)
It doesn't run in my family either, although I did have an uncle (pa's brother) that had Lupus. Looks like I'm the first, the very start of a new family legacy. Yay me!!!I had an aunt that had it and she was my Mother's sister. Nobody else on either side of my family has/had it. Its all over my fam. And I've never even lived near them. My dad was military and we moved all over, the rest of the fam has almost always been in WI. (Save for a a short trip to Alaska when my mom was 3)

My mom has it, my grandpa has it, now my auntie has it, and possibly my cousin. ALL on my moms side as well.

My sister has lupus, she was diagnosed at 23. I was diagnosed w/RA at 50. We are two years apart.

Neither of us has ever found a relative on either side of the family that has any autoimmune disease. So I guess we are a good example of environment since we lived together and went to the same schools.

But, Why lupus at 23 and RA at 50???? Strange and mysterious these diseases.

Because of posts on this board, I'm now willing to concede (LOL) some of this may be genetic - but I'm thinking more that the gene that kicks on is your weakest, if that makes sense.

There is just too many instances of people who LIVE together getting AI diseases.

I really think it's an infection.

Pip

"I'm now willing to concede (LOL) some of this may be genetic"

Can I get a signed copy of that? LOL I'm kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah only my mom and I lived together. And everyone in my fam was diagnosed at different ages too. As far as I can tell there's not a real rhyme or reason. At least, I don't see a pattern, aside from us all being on mom's side of the fam. There are A LOT of things I share in common with my mom, grandpa, aunt, and cousin. There are other aunts and cousins on that side, but for some reason the 5 of us REALLY favor each other. Silly things too, like all becoming lactose intolerant in the same year?!? The way we bend our thumbs, our shoe sizes, etc etc.

You know what's interesting...I read that sibling's of RA sufferer's (victims) have more a chance of getting RA than children of sufferers (victims). I don't know about infection cuz I NEVER get sick. I can be in a room full of people with a cold or flu or stomach flu and I don't get it. I don't even get poison ivy and I've rubbed it on my skin to prove it. Ok, that isn't as weird as it sounds. Their was a reasonable reason for doing that.

But now, and I'm sure this is cuz of the drugs, I have an infection in my finger from that stupid porcupine quill.

But that would make sense, because with the RA, your immune system is working SUPER over time. Thus, preventing infections........now that you're on a biologic (you are, right?) your immune system is suppressed, and so yes, you probably do have an infection from that stupid quill. LOL How's it looking anyway? It's not lookin too good. I won't descibe it cuz it's kind of gross. I know YOU wouldn't mind (being a Marilyn Manson fan and all

My dad has PA, and I NEVER lived with him *I live with his mom and step dad some of my life and my crazy mom some until I was adopted at 12*. My sister who is 12 years younger, do the math, I saw her once, has it.

My mom has osteoarthritis, but I did not live with her continuously in my life. Maybe a total of three years, and not consecutively.

I am not a genetic anomoly, but I never lived in the *environment*,

hmmm. Makes one wonder???!!!

So, Linda if he porcupine quill gave you an infection, did you give it RA??? LOLOh come on, we're tough. Dish it out! Oh wait, even better, POST PICTURES!!!!!!!!! I hadn't considered revenge, but now that you put it on the table....who knows?

OK if you insist...it's swelled up and red with a bubble of pus underneath another bubble of blood. My plan is to let it build up a bit more pressure then pop it and hopefully the quill will come whooshing out with the blood and pus. Whaddaya think?

Katie...I was only kidding about the MM thing. Hope I didn't offend you In case you didn't notice, I'm not really a quiet person Yeah, now that you mention it, timid just doesn't seem to fit

Scientists in the UK reported this summer that they have found a genetic link to several diseases including RA, with much more research needed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06 /07/nmedical107.xml&page=3

My family is relatively small, I know NOTHING about my dads side of the family and have had no communication with my biological father in over 19 years. My mom does have lyme, ra, fibro and a host of other crappy crap but she didn't get sick until after I left her house when I was 16.

I truly believe my illness, be it ra or something else, started with hormonal changes from my miscarriages and subsequent fertility treatments but I can not seem to find anything specific nor can the doctors. But considering I was healthy and very fit until I tried to have a baby, makes you wonder. Especially when they can find no reason for me to lose five healthy babies.

But, the jerk off doctor at the U of M seemed extremely interested in my dad and his relatives. He kept pursing it even after I told him that my father was a drunk and a drug addict and used to beat me and my mother. He than had to nerve to ask me if I could call him and ask him about the medical history!!!! Uh NO WAY!!!!!!!!!! Idiot!
Well, I have RA, two out of 3 of my daughters have RA, my mom has RA, my uncle has RA, my grandmother had RA, my great aunt had RA. This is all maternal side of the family. So if it isn't partly a genetic thing then we are just jinxed lol. My dad also had severe RA, as does my sister. Our diseases all started out the exact same way ... one day we each noticed an ache in our right shoulders that escalated into excruciating pain within a few hours. Then, all heck broke loose within a few days. All three of us had a severe onset, followed by a remission, followed by an even more severe return of symptoms. The only difference was our ages when we experienced our first symptoms. My dad was 65, my sister was 37, and I was 47. I believe that genetics played a role somehow, and that a similar catalyst (perhaps a dormant virus that activated at a different age in each of us) triggered the onset of our symptoms I was reading a book yesterday about RA that said that the specific cells that are supposed to attack infection or bad bacteria seem to be wired differently in people who have RA. What these cells do is see the person's body as a danger and attack itself. They believed that the bad wired cell could be genetic and run in families. However, I am not proof of that at all. When I was dx at 3, the drs tested everyone in my family and there isn't another member who has RA or any kind of autoimmune issue. Dad's side wasn't tested because we didn't know where any of them were however just recently have found an uncle, brother and sister who say no one on Dad's side had RA. Don't really know where mine came from.

RA doesn't run in my family, but autoimmune diseases sure do. All on my moms side, all different disorders from colitis/crohns, lupus, dermamysotisis(sp?), AS, RA. My grandfather, aunt, and mother, and myself. Every generation gets them at a younger age, and everyone has multiple things.

"I was reading a book yesterday about RA that said that the specific cells
that are supposed to attack infection or bad bacteria seem to be wired
differently in people who have RA. What these cells do is see the person's
body as a danger and attack itself."

As far as I know, that's all theoretical. What book was this? Did it offer any
proof or evidence that supports this theory. I know it's currently the
popular theory, but it gets my goat when it's presented as fact rather than
possible fact.

Marigold, I got excited about your link until I read the part about RA:
"Rheumatoid Arthritis: (RA). Several genes were found for the first time to
have a possible role in RA. Further work will have to be undertaken to
validate the findings and understand how the genes might influence the
development and course of the auto-immune disease suffered by
387,000 people in the UK. Scientists hope the research will lead to new
cures."

...seems kind of inconclusive.

As for my family, my great aunt on my mother's side developed RA 3
years ago at age 87. My aunt on my father's side had diabetes (now
considered an AI disease). Other than that I'm not aware of any other AI
diseased in the family.

WaHoo!! The thread I've been waiting forMy mother and her sister have fibromyalgia; my father and his mother have RA. Seems to run in my family too!

Would maybe a messed up immune system be genetic but the triggers enviromental?

Or a traumatic injury, or infection like pneunomia, or strep throat

Who Really Knows? [QUOTE=SarahP]

Would maybe a messed up immune system be genetic but the triggers enviromental?

[/QUOTE]

Probably; that's what some recent twins studies seem to point to.
JasmineRain - what a pretty name

I think Karin is probably the most right.

What if we inherit an allergy to something (probably intestinal gut related) and some infection triggers it. Those with more of the 'genes' for certain things would get hit there. IE the dairy allergy mentioned. If you are eating dairy and your intestines are inflammed, you are then under a lot of stress, stuff leaks out of the gut...and wham! RA or whatever the weakest gene you have kicks on.

Twins are no more likely to get RA than the rest of the population so the connection must be something other than straight genes.

Pip

RA rates in identical twins are a bit higher than in fraternal twins, indicating that genetics play some role:

"

Rheumatoid arthritis, a multifactorial disease, is a common type of inflammatory arthritis which affects many joints and occurs in approximately 1% of the population worldwide. In this case, the gene link with rheumatoid arthritis is to an immune system gene called HLA-DR4. In rheumatoid arthritis patients of European ancestry, as many as 60% to 70% carry the HLA-DR4 gene, compared with 30% in the general population.

Twin studies show that 12% to 15% of identical twins both develop rheumatoid arthritis compared to only 4% in non-identical twins. Further, the disease rate in first-degree family members of rheumatoid arthritis patients is only 0.8% compared to 0.5% in the general population. This indicates that genes only modestly increase the risk for rheumatoid arthritis and that the environment is likely to play a stronger role."

http://www.rheumatology.org/public/factsheets/heredity.asp

From the same page:

How twin studies help

Studying twins has proven very helpful in examining the genetic and environmental influences that may cause disease. Identical (monozygotic) twin pairs possess exactly the same genes, while non-identical (dizygotic) twin pairs, like any other siblings, typically mirror only half of their genes.

Regardless of their genetic background, however, both identical and non-identical twins usually grow up in the same environment and share similar exposures during childhood. Therefore, a simple comparison of how frequently a disease affects identical versus non-identical twin pairs can provide valuable information about to what extent a disease is influenced by genetic versus environmental factors.

If the disease is unifactorial, both identical twins nearly always will be affected, while a much smaller percentage of non-identical twins will both develop the disease. In multifactorial diseases, the frequency of both identical twins getting the disease is 5 to 70%, and for non-identical pairs, even lower.

But this was from the link GoGo posted.

Researchers in Denmark surveyed over 37,000 twins about rheumatic diseases. Twin studies are one of the simplest ways to unravel the relative importance of genetic and environmental effects of a disease. Twins who reported that they had rheumatoid arthritis were invited to have a clinical examination.

Rheumatoid arthritis was verified in 13 identical and 36 non-identical twins. No identical twins and only two pairs of non-identical twins both had rheumatoid arthritis, suggesting that rheumatoid arthritis is no more common in identical twins than non-identical twins.

Despite some study limitations, the authors conclude that environmental effects may be more important than genetic effects in the development of rheumatoid arthritis.

----------------------------

These guys can't agree on anything.

Pip

I did say when quoting the UK Link that there was a lot of research yet to do. But I thought the fact that they believed there to be a link was worth getting excited about.

Gimpy- I'm sorry. I can't seem to remember what the name was. I want to say Conquering rheumatoid arthritis. It was written by Thomas Wolfe. I don't believe that it was presented as being a theory in this book. Not to say that it isn't still a working theory. Of course there is the possibility that I may have just misinterpreted what I read.
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