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Patients with a specific genetic predisposition for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may want to take precautions when consuming certain types of meat, dairy and produce grown with cow manure, according to a new study out of the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando.
The study, which assessed 100 RA patients, published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology in January, linked the presence of the bacteria Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) with triggering RA in patients who have a mutation in the genes PTPN2 and 22, genes that regulate T cells.1 MAP belongs to a family of bacteria that includes leprosy and tuberculosis (TB) and remains difficult to treat.
The typical onset for RA in the 1.3 million adults in the U.S. who have it ranges from 40–60 years old. Three times as many women have it as men.