Using Molecular Markers to Monitor Osteoarthritis

The diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA) is currently based on clinical presentation and radiographic signs. However, because radiographic diagnosis is based on decreased joint space, it detects disease only after considerable cartilage damage has occurred. Yet, there is only a modest correlation between the extent of structural damage in the osteoarthritic joint and the pain and functional impairment that causes the patient to seek treatment. Still, there remains a fundamental belief that if further joint damage could be prevented, disease progression would be stopped, and if joint damage could be reversed, functionality would be restored. All of this means that a method of measuring disease activity in OA is critically important for rationalizing treatment of OA. A knowledge of disease activity is required for determining the need of treatment, the mode of treatment and the effectiveness of treatment. Ideally, this is a role for a molecular marker.*