What that means is that the challenge to a physician like Dr. Smiles or myself is to be able to tease out exactly what kind of arthritis we're dealing with so that we can better individualize a therapy for that patient.
DAVID MARKS, MD: Dr. Smiles, what are some of the most common types of arthritis?
STEPHEN SMILES, MD: I believe that what we see most often common are two types of categories. One is the arthritis that we see related to the degeneration of joints.
DAVID MARKS, MD: What does that mean, degeneration? Explain what that means.
STEPHEN SMILES, MD: It is the localization of a process that is localized to the joint itself, rather than a system disease of the entire body that we see in disorders that are categorized under inflammatory joint disease like rheumatoid arthritis. So out of the two largest categories, we would see osteoarthritis, a localized degenerative process of the joint, rheumatoid arthritis, a generalized systemic disease with its major manifestation being a systemic joint disease
ALLAN GIBOFSKY, MD: Let me carry that one step further, as Steve has indicated. When we talk about degenerative disease, generally what we talk about is either normal use of an abnormal joint, or abnormal use of a normal joint. So, individuals who are basketball players and use their knees a lot develop the kind of arthritis in their knees that we would see in their grandparents. Their hands and the other parts of their body are fine.
