Subject: possible reason for the link between infection and arthritus

My father who has now sadly passed away developed a hypothesis and patented a vaccine against rheumatoid arthritis. I have published the hypothesis on a website http://simonconnolly.com/ in the hope that it will catch someone's interest and that someone will take his work forward. There is currently no established reason for a link between infection and arthritis and other such diseases of unknown origin and this offers a possible explanation.

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Subject: Re: possible reason for the link between infection and arthritus

Colin - there is a genetic link - there are specific genes for RA, AS, Celiac.

...and Patricia, my understanding is that the infection links directly to the diseases - and they have identified specific bacteria (or viruses or dietary proteins) that trigger and drive different autoimmune diseases - because they carry the same amino protein sequences as are carried on the human gene.

It's called Molecular Mimicry. In RA one of the genes is HLA-DRB1 - and one protein sequence is QKRAA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_mimicry#Probability_of_mimicry_events

From 1996 ! - describing the use of Minocyline (explains the genetics well)

http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/6/592.full.pdf

Sero-positive RA is a result of Epitope Spreading where the immune system creates antibodies via a different route that are similar to to the original antigen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_mimicry#Epitope_spreading

Having the genes - or having these bacteria do not mean we will get an autoimmune disease as many with our genes do not succumb. The gene only makes you susceptible - there are other factors - also influenced by the environment / toxins / mineral status in the gut and these control the way antigens are presented to the immune system - and then govern the initial T-Cell and B-Cell response to an antigen and then self.

If you withdraw the original antigen or cross reactive proteins for long enough - the immune system will eventually "delete" the antibodies that were created without a full affinity to the original infection. This is called "Clonal Deletion".

The immune system will be reactivated if the original antigen is presented later on.

This is why Intestinal Permeability is so important - and why I say that many NSAID's are a true double edge sword.

In my AS the gene is HLA-B27 and rarely HLA-B39.

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Subject: Re: possible reason for the link between infection and arthritus

Hi Colin

I think this is a little more than just a theory, otherwise my father would not been able to register a patent. To register a patent you have to undergo a rigorous justification process. You cannot patent an idea or a theory you can only patent an invention.

Since his death I have approached numerous research organisations. They do not return my calls or blank me without reading the information that I have. The normal route would be to publish a properly written research proposal and then it would be considered by a board of people. Unfortunately I am not a scientist and would take many years to learn enough to do that. My father is no longer here to do that himself. It is not that it has been read and dismissed. It has just not been read.

The reason I joined this forum was in the hope that someone who suffers from the condition might be a little more interested in taking the time to read the article and they may have the contacts to do something to test it out.

Whilst the vaccine may be expensive he had other ideas which may not be so costly to test the validity of what he is saying.

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