Case of the missing monocyte: Gene appears to protect against rheumatoid arthritis
Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 16:30
in Health & Medicine
An estimated 1.3 million people in the United States suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. The causes behind this chronic disease -- which can exhibit itself as pain, swelling, stiffness, deformation, and loss of function in the joints -- have eluded scientists for centuries. A new study offers tantalizing glimmers about the roles of a gene called CCR2, an immune system cell called Th17 cell, and a missing monocyte.