Arthritis The search for the elusive trigger
HOWARD J. SANDERS · Chemical & Engineering News · 1968
A typical scientific report on rheumatoid arthritis and its causes is apt to contain a sentence like this: "The etiology of rheumatoid arthritis remains a fascinating enigma." "The etiology and pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis are not known." "Of all the major forms of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis is the most puzzling in terms of etiology." "Rheumatoid arthritis is a capricious disease of unknown etiology, uncertain course, and variable prognosis." A few months ago, I asked Dr. Theodore B. Bayles of Harvard Medical School, who is one of the nation's top authorities on rheumatic diseases, what he believes are the most likely causes of rheumatoid arthritis. He thought for a moment and then replied crisply, "G.O.K.!" "Oh, what's that?" I asked. "God Only Knows!" True, the causes of rheumatoid arthritis and most other rheumatic diseases are unknown. However, the past decade has seen a rapid growth of knowledge about these diseases-knowledge that should eventually lead to a ...