Identical Twins – Identical Problems?

Reported July, 2007

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful, chronic disease that affects about two-million Americans. It's also genetic -- but most of the time, only one twin in a pair will inherit it.

They look the same ... sound the same ... and share the same genetic code. But what has stumped scientists -- why some of them develop genetic diseases while their twin stays healthy. "That brings the question whether there is beyond the genes, whether there is another factor that is playing a role," says Joseph Holoshitz, M.D. and rheumatologist at the University of Michigan.

They look the same ... sound the same ... and share the same genetic code. But what has stumped scientists -- why some of them develop genetic diseases while their twin stays healthy. "That brings the question whether there is beyond the genes, whether there is another factor that is playing a role," says Joseph Holoshitz, M.D. and rheumatologist at the University of Michigan.

Getting to the root of the disease's cause could pave the way for targeted treatments for patients like Barbara D'Amico who has struggled with it for more than 30 years. "Physically, I feel like it's a broken bone that never heals. It's just a constant ache," explains D'Amico. She has taken up to 20 pain pills in a day -- and tried dozens of mediations that haven't worked.

"We might be able to, in the future, to design specific therapies for individuals based on what we know about their gene makeup," Holoshitz says. The research team thinks these genes are susceptible to something called oxidative stress, which affects how cells repair themselves. But there's only a small chance it will trigger the disease, which is why most of the time, only one twin inherits the disease.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Division of Rheumatology
University of Michigan Health Center
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0358
(734) 936-556

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