Blood test detects signs of osteoarthritis 8 years before X-ray
Friday, researchers announced the creation of a new blood test that could lead to earlier intervention for those with osteoarthritis (OA). The degenerative disease, sometimes called 'wear-and-tear arthritis', most commonly impacts the knee.
Dr. Virginia Kraus runs a lab focused on OA research. Her team recently conducted a study which looked at blood samples from 200 women in London.
Kraus explained half of the women had OA while the other half did not.
“We were interested in applying a panel we had previously developed for predicting people at risk of osteoarthritis progression to see if it could actually identify the disease early,” said Kraus.
In the women who had OA, the blood test was able to detect biomarkers of the disease eight years before it was spotted on an X-ray.
“By showing in fact you can identify it even before symptoms, the idea is you can incentivize people to do all the things they know they should be doing but maybe aren’t doing,” said Kraus.
The researcher said that could include things like maintaining a healthy weight, incorporating more healthy foods into a person’s diet and ensuring someone is getting enough exercise.
She added earlier detection could also help with the application of treatments to effected risk groups sooner.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women are more at risk of developing OA as they age than men.
Prior injury to the knee is another key risk factor. Kraus said additional blood test research is being conducted focusing on people who had major joint trauma in their knees when they were younger.
“We’re partnering with the Arthritis Foundation that has a trial that’s beginning this May to study people with a major ACL injury,” said Kraus. “They’ll be getting either metformin or a placebo and the idea there is we can actually see if the at-risk group develops these abnormalities in the biomarker.”
Kraus added the team is also working with companies for ongoing trials in OA patients to see if the biomarker could determine if treatments are working.
“I think what we’re trying to achieve is a more personalized approach to medicine,” said Kraus. “One size may not fit all. Why expose somebody who doesn’t need it to the unnecessary side effects of a medication that’s not going to help them?”
The researcher said she hopes continued efforts could lead to additional discoveries of blood test applications for a wide range of other diseases.
