Researchers aim to develop new blood tests to diagnose osteoarthritis

Press release issued: 24 April 2014 Researchers at the University of Bristol are hoping to develop new blood tests that would help to diagnose and monitor the common joint condition, osteoarthritis. More than eight million people in the UK are affected by osteoarthritis, which occurs when cartilage at the ends of bones wears away, leading to stiff, swollen and painful joints. There is currently little effective treatment other than painkillers and joint replacement for patients with most severe disease. Now a team led by Dr Mohammed Sharif , Senior Lecturer in the School of Clinical Sciences , have been awarded almost £300,000 by medical research charity Arthritis Research UK to find out if two new biomarkers (specific physical traits used to measure or indicate the effects or progress of a disease) found in the blood of patients with osteoarthritis can be used not only to diagnose the condition but also inform doctors which patients are likely to get worse over time, and who is likely to benefit from specific treatments. At present there are no simple tests for the early diagnosis of osteoarthritis, and usually by the time a definitive diagnosis is made using x-rays, the disease is in its advanced stages. Moreover, there are currently no means of predicting how it will develop or respond to therapy. Biomarkers could be used to identify patients in the early stages of osteoarthritis or those who will worsen over time, but current biomarkers are not good enough to perform these tasks reliably.