FRIDAY, Sept. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Almost half of all American adults will develop osteoarthritis of the knee by age 85, and their odds increase if they are obese in middle age, a new study says.

A person's risk of having the painful condition increased as his or her body-mass index (BMI) rose, according to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study. People who were of normal weight at age 18 but were overweight or obese by 45 or older had the greatest risk.

THURSDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) -- The first direct proof of how osteoarthritis destroys cartilage has been discovered by University of Rochester Medical Center researchers.

They said their finding could lead to preventive treatments for a disease that affects almost 21 million aging Americans and is the leading cause of disability in the United States.

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental gout drug called pegloticase lowered levels of uric acid in the blood to target levels within a few hours in most patients.

That's the conclusion of a study by researchers at Duke University Medical Center and Savient Pharmaceuticals, the company that's developing the drug.

Last year I suffered a nontraumatic femur fracture of my left femur. In July, 2008 I read an article that described femur fractures identical to mine and a possible link to long term use of Fosamax. Since then I have had a bone scan which shows increased activity in my right femur which could very possibly be a stress fracture. I am very worried about the risk of a fracture occurring in my right femur. I would love to communicate with others who have had this experience. I am also interested in learning about how I can protect myself from this happening again.

(HealthDay News) -- When a splint or cast is applied to help a broken bone heal, the cast itself requires some care.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers these suggestions:

* Keep your cast dry. Use two layers of waterproof protection to cover it when you shower.
* If you have a walking cast, give it plenty of time to dry and harden before you try to walk on it -- about an hour for a fiberglass cast and two to three days for plaster.
* Avoid letting sand, dirt or powder get into your cast.

(HealthDay News) -- A herniated (sometimes called "ruptured") disk in the back or neck can cause severe pain and numbness.

Disks are the soft, rubbery pads found between the spine's vertebrae. When stressed or overused from wear-and-tear, the center of the disk can push through its outer edge, putting pressure on nearby sensitive nerves.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons lists these common risk factors for herniated disks:

* Lifting objects the wrong way.
* Smoking.
* Being overweight, which causes stress on the spine.

THURSDAY, Aug. 28 (HealthDay News) -- The ability to brake suddenly while driving is fully returned six weeks following bunion surgery, researchers say.

A bunion is the bump just below the big toe that can occur when the big toe begins to angle sideways toward the second toe. Bunions can become swollen and painful, sometimes making it hard to walk. In these cases, surgical treatment to realign the bone, ligaments, and tendons may be required.

How do they walk in these things?

MONDAY, Aug. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Over the past 25 years, cheerleading accounted for two-thirds of all catastrophic sports injuries experienced by high school and college females in the United States, a much higher proportion than previously thought, a new report says.

Cheerleading accounted for 65.1 percent of female high school athlete injuries and for 66.7 percent of female college athlete injuries.

Hi,

Does rheumatoid arthritis lead to bone fusion?

Thank,
Ang