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Medical data is for informational purposes only. You should always consult your family physician, or one of our referral physicians prior to treatment.

systemic nature of the diseases.

It has been stated by some practicing physicians that at least

50% of us will have Osteoarthritis (Osteo) if we live long enough,

and therefore Osteoarthritis is often said to be a “degenerative” or

“aging” disease. It is characterized by swelling that is bony with

irregular spurs and occasional soft cysts, whereas Rheumatoid

Arthritis (RA) is characterized by synovial, capsular soft tissue

that is bony only in late stages

.Tenderness is normal for RA, but

is usually absent with Osteo, except during occasional acute

flare-ups and particularly at the onset. The distal interphalangeal

joint (closest to the nails) is usually not involved with RA (except

thumb) but quite characteristic with Osteo. The proximal inter-

phalangeal joint (middle) is usually involved with RA, and is

frequently involved with Osteo. The metacarpophalangeal joint

(knuckles) is usually involved with RA, but never with Osteo,

except for the thumb. Wrist involvement is normal for RA but

never involved with Osteo, except for the base of the thumb

Osteo is characterized by degenerative loss of joint cartilage,

deadening of bone beneath the cartilage, and cartilage and bone

proliferation at the joint margins with subsequent bony out-

growths. Impaired joint function and synovial inflammation is

common

Osteoarthritis is said to be “inflammation of the bones and

joints” according to a medical dictionary.

While Osteo is painful, and leads to progressively less usage

of joints, it is not the great crippler that characterizes Rheumatoid

Arthritis. Rheumatoid Arthritis usually is known by a cluster of

easily observed symptoms distinguishing it from Osteo: Joints are

swollen, heated, and an increasing number of them become

affected over time. Night sweats, depression and lethargy accom-

pany this disease

Gouty Arthritis, on the other hand, is characterized by sharp

painful joints, as if a needle were probing the internal structure of

the joints. One can have attacks of fever, chills and, of course, the

described excruciating needle-like pains. Gout victims will suffer

for weeks at a time often with loss of mobility; and, as these

attacks become more frequent, they will eventually be disabling.

Kidney disease, heart disease, and many other complications can

set in

OSTEOARTHRITIS

WHAT CAUSES OSTEOARTHRITIS?

Osteoarthritis appears to be caused by a combination of

factors. Hormonal deficiencies certainly play their part, as one-third

Supplement to

The Art of Getting Well

Arithritis

Sources are given in references.

Authors of contributions\quotations are alphabetically arranged;

major author, if any, is underlined.

Dr. K.Asai, Dr. Robert Atkins, Broda Barnes, M.D., Alfred

Baum, M.D., Antoine Bechamp, Robert Bingham, M.D., Jeffrey S.

Bland, Ph.D., Wilhelm von Brehmer, Jack M. Blount, M.D., Erma

J. Brown, B.S.N., Ph.N., Royden Brown, Thomas MacPherson

Brown, M.D., James A. Carlson,D.O., Robert F. Cathcart, III,

M.D., Arabinda Das, M.D., Ron Davis,M.D., Gerald J. Domingue,

Ph.D., William Campbell Douglass, M.D., Prof. Guenther

Enderlein,William J. Faber, D.O., Charles H. Farr, M.D., Ph.D.,

Zane Garda, M.D., Thomas Gervais, C.A. Hackethal, M.D., Dr.

Samuel Hahneman, Masseur, Karl Herxheimer, L. Ron Hubbard,

Ferdinand Huenke, M.D., Walter Huenke, M.D., J.O. Hunter,

Corazon Ilarina, M.D., Adolph Jarisch, William Kaufman,

M.D.,Ph.D., Kent, Warren Levin, M.D., Beth Ley, B.S., Susana

Alcazar Leyva, M.D., Virginia Livingtson-Wheeler, M.D., Marshall

Mandell, M.D., Wayne Martin, B.S., Lida Mattman, Ph.D., Gaston

Naessen, Seldon Nelson, D.O., Rex E. Newnham, N.D., D.O., Ph.D.,

Tonis Pai, M.D., Linus Pauling, Ph.D., Louis Pasteur, Raymond F.

Peat, Ph.D., Gus J. Prosch, Jr., M.D., Dr. Paul K. Pybus, Theron

Randolph, M.D., Carl J. Reiche, M.D., Royal Rife, Ida P. Rolf,

Ph.D., David W. Schnare, Jorgan U. Schlegel, Alexander von Seld,

M.D., Dr. Med. Gerhard Shettler, Megan G. Shields, M.D., C.

Orion Truss, M.D., Julian Whitaker, M.D., Lester Winter, Ph.D.,

Hannah B. Woody, Roger Wyburn-Mason, M.D., Ph.D./Respon-

sible editor/Writer Anthony di Fabio.

Foundation for Eradication of Rheumatoid Disease

AKA The Arthritis Trust of America

7376 Walker Road, Fairview, Tn 37062

Permission to publish granted to Townsend Letter for Doctors, 911 Tyler St., Port

Townsend, WA 98368-6541, December 1993, p. 1194.

Introduction

There are many kinds of arthitides determined by observation

of symptoms, each named uniquely. The three most prominent are

Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Gouty Arthritis.

Tens of millions of Americans suffer from either

Osteoarthritis or Gouty Arthritis. At least thirteen million

Americans suffer from so-called incurable Rheumatoid Disease, a

name given to a broad cluster of diseases, perhaps 100 in number

that, while appearing to be different diseases because they are

differently named, are all related by the fact that collagen tissue is

somehow affected. An estimated forty million people have

Osteoarthritis, six million have Rheumatoid Arthritis and about

one million Americans have Gouty Arthritis

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Most people know “arthritis” as a joint disease: painful,

swollen, or heated joints. Most treatments, therefore, are aimed at

relieving pain at the joints without in any way attending to the