Scientists find genes to fight bone disease

SCIENTISTS have discovered three genes linked to the development of a painful bone condition that affects up to one million people in the UK.

The international team of scientists, led by Edinburgh University, believes the genes are involved in regulating the rate at which bone is repaired, providing an explanation of why Paget's disease might occur.

The disease disrupts the body's normal process of breaking down old bone and replacing it.

The condition leads to enlarged and malformed bones and patients can suffer from bone pain, brittle bones susceptible to fractures, and advanced arthritis. It affects more people in the UK than anywhere else in the world.

Professor Stuart Ralston, Arthritis Research UK Professor of Rheumatology, who led the study at Edinburgh University, said: "Our work shows that these three genes together very strongly predict the development of Paget's disease.

"Their effects are so powerful that they could be of real value in screening for risk of the disease. This is important since we know that if treatment is left too late, then irreversible damage to the bones can occur."