EULAR 2012: Does Arthritis Start in the Gut?

He also presented evidence suggesting that Chlamydia could be a cause of undifferentiated spondylarthropathy (uSpA).

Researchers at the University of South Florida tested 26 subjects with uSpA for Chlamydia in synovial tissue against 167 controls with osteoarthritis, finding significantly higher levels of Chlamydia in the uSpA patients. Sixty-two percent of them were positive for C. trachomatis, Chlamydophila pneumonia, or both, compared with 12% in the control group.

“Perhaps reactive arthritis can be used as a model for all the spondylarthridities,” Dr. Carter said. “These data suggest a blurring of the line between infection and arthritis.” the rheumatologist

Thomas Collins is a freelance medical writer based in Florida.

Reference

1. Gerard HC, Stanich JA, Whittum-Hudson JA, Schumacher HR, Carter JD, Hudson AP. Patients with Chlamydia-associated arthritis have ocular (trachoma), not genital, serovars of C. trachomatis in synovial tissue. Microb Pathog. 2010;48:62-68.