Reference no: EM133568584

After her 65th birthday party, Helen finally agreed to talk to her doctor as her daughter had insisted. Her daughter had been on her case for almost a year about the soreness Helen felt from time to time. The soreness was particularly bad in her spine, knees, and hips. To Helen, this was just a part of getting old. She remembered her parents complaining of the same kind of soreness, so this did not seem unusual or like anything to worry about. At the same time, Helen knew that things had changed a lot since back then, and perhaps there were some simple solutions that would make her feel better.

Helen's doctor suggested they try out a relatively new tool for diagnosing her problem. She had a special MRI done, which is a type of medical imaging. Her doctor said the MRI would look for the levels of chemicals called proteoglycans. Proteoglycans are protein/carbohydrate complexes made by chondrocytes. The proteoglycans make up part of the extracellular matrix of connective tissues. They perform a variety of functions, including regulating the movement of chemicals in connective tissue and maintaining the stability of collagen. They also play an important role in binding to water molecules, which helps to maintain the water content of connective tissues. Helen's doctor noted low proteoglycan levels in the MRIs, but she said that's actually a helpful thing for her to see. Now she can offer up some helpful solutions with more confidence in the problem she's dealing with.

Questions

1. What disease do you think Helen has, and what aspects of her symptoms and test results support your conclusion?

2. Based on the information about proteoglycans above, which part(s) of the vertebral column would probably be most impacted by a loss of proteoglycans?

3. How do you think a loss of proteoglycans could lead to some of the symptoms Helen is experience.