New treatment for wear and tear arthritis?

when they started using the anti cancer drug Methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis, I was sceptical, until studies showed it was safer than using high dose aspirin/NSAIDs (which cause bleeding ulcers) and cortisone.

By hitting the body's immune system it slows the "auto immune" reaction against one's joints.

But now the UKMail reports that MTX is being used for osteoarthritis too.

this is "wear and tear" arthritis, but more common in some people.

Osteoarthritis: A degenerative joint disease where the cartilage, which cushions the joints, wears away

The results also suggested that inflammation plays a role in the pain of osteoarthritis, something that hasn't been clear before.
Before she joined the pilot study in 2009, Susan had been in excruciating pain. Just over a year earlier, she'd noticed her knees were clicking when she walked, then the right one gave way completely.
'I didn't hurt myself, but all I could think of was how I was going to manage on the Nile cruise my husband, Stephen, and I were set to go on a month later,' she says.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2487353/The-pill-arthritis-sufferers-moving-A-radical-surprising-new-option-patients-crippled-painful-joints.html#ixzz2jpo6AY4Y
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hmm...

a lot of my women patients with osteoarthritis have borderline ANA tests (1:40) but not high enough to diagnose Lupus. Wonder if this has anything to do with it. I'll have to check the medical literature and get back to you.

I should add that you have to keep an eye on the blood and liver tests when taking this toxic drug.