Rheumatoid arthritis: what is it?
One of the most prevalent autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), can result in arthrosis, or persistent inflammation of several joints. The joint space between bones may get smaller as a result of the gradual loss of cartilage over time. Joints will be loose, unstable, painful and lose their mobility. Joint deformity also can occur. The primary and most obvious symptom of this disease is warm, swollen, and painful joints. RA is majorly caused by immune system dysfunction when one’s immune system mistakenly attacks normal tissues.
Benefits of using models of non-human primates (NHPs)
Laboratory animals are useful resources for researching the pathophysiology of diseases and assessing and validating therapeutic agents and devices. In this context, rodent models—such as rats and mice—represent the most frequently utilized items. The evolutionary gap between humans and rodents, however, makes it difficult to apply the results of experiments to actual human trials. The anatomical, genetic, microbiological, physiological, and immunological traits of non-human primates (NHPs) are known to be very similar to those of humans. NHPs can therefore aid in bridging the vast disparity between the diverse patient population of RA and inbred rodent strain models.
More details: Rheumatoid Arthritis Mouse Model