Targeting genes behind severe arthritis

Professor Matthew Brown

A Brisbane professor is jointly leading a global study to uncover the genes that cause a common form of arthritis.

Diamantina’s Professor Matthew Brown has secured a $7 million grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in the US to pinpoint the genes behind ankylosing spondylitis.

This condition is the second most common cause of inflammatory arthritis, which affects at least one in every 200 adults. It stiffens the back, hips and pelvis and can damage the eyes and heart.

“It’s a chronic condition that basically causes people in their 20s and 30s to be significantly disabled by their 50s and 60s,” Professor Brown said.

“The goal of the grant is to identify the genes that determine who gets the disease and also what determines the severity of the condition. Because this disease is so highly hereditary our program has an extremely high chance of identifying at least the major genes that are involved. It’s thought that the disease is triggered by some very common bacterial infection.”

Professor Brown, who leads the Musculoskeletal Genetics Group, is jointly leading a group of 15 US and British scientists.

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