title: Recent advances in the research of an endemic osteochondropathy in China: Kashin-Beck disease.
abstract: Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) is an endemic chronic osteochondral disease, which has a high prevalence and morbidity in the Eastern Siberia of Russia, and in the broad diagonal, northern-east to southern-west belt in China and North Korea. In 1990's, it was estimated that in China 1-3 million people had some degree of symptoms of the disease, although even higher estimates have been presented. In China, the extensive prevalence peaked in the late 1950's, but since then, in contrast to the global trend of the osteoarthritis (OA), the number of cases has been dramatically falling. Up to 2013, there are 0.64 millions patients with the KBD and 1.16 millions at risk in 377 counties of 13 provinces or autonomous regions. This is obviously thanks to the preventive efforts carried out, which include providing millions of people with dietary supplements and clean water, as well as relocation of whole villages in China. However, relatively little is known about the molecular mechanisms behind the cartilage damage, the genetic and the environmental risk factors, and the rationale of the preventive effects. During the last decade, new data on a cellular and molecular level has begun to accumulate, which hopefully will uncover the grounds of the disease.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Health Science Center of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases in the Education Ministry and Key Laboratory of Trace Elements and Endemic Diseases in Ministry of Health, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. Electronic address: guox@mail.xjtu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Health Science Center of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases in the Education Ministry and Key Laboratory of Trace Elements and Endemic Diseases in Ministry of Health, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: W-J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Health Science Center of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases in the Education Ministry and Key Laboratory of Trace Elements and Endemic Diseases in Ministry of Health, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Health Science Center of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases in the Education Ministry and Key Laboratory of Trace Elements and Endemic Diseases in Ministry of Health, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: F-L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: C-J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland. Electronic address: mikko.lammi@uef.fi.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Lammi
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D057767:Kashin-Beck Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Cartilage; Gene expression; Kashin-Beck disease; Osteochondropathy; Proteomics