Duke Health researchers have reported that a blood test was able to successfully predict knee osteoarthritis at least eight years before any signs of the disease showed up on x-rays. The study, which was published in the journal Science Advances, validated the accuracy of the blood test in identifying important biomarkers of osteoarthritis. The researchers demonstrated that the test could predict both the development and progression of the disease.The research presented a new blood test that could be more effective than current diagnostic tools in detecting knee osteoarthritis before it causes significant damage to the joint. According to senior author Virginia Byers Kraus, the current diagnostic tools require an abnormal x-ray to clearly show evidence of the disease, by which time it has already been progressing for some time. The blood test, on the other hand, showed promising results in detecting the disease earlier.
It is crucial to be able to detect this disease much earlier than our current diagnostics allow.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis, affecting around 35 million adults in the U.S. and causing significant economic and societal impacts. While there are currently no cures, the success of potential new treatments could depend on detecting the disease early and slowing its progression before it becomes debilitating.
Kraus and colleagues have been working on creating molecular biomarkers that can be used for clinical diagnostic purposes and as a research tool to assist in the development of effective drugs. In previous studies, A biomarker test has shown 74% accuracy in predicting the progression of knee OA and 85% accuracy in diagnosing knee OA.
The latest study has improved the test’s predictive abilities. Researchers used a large database from the United Kingdom to analyze the serum of 200 white women. Half of the women were diagnosed with OA and the other half were not, and they were matched by body mass index and age.
The study revealed that a few biomarkers in the blood test were able to successfully differentiate between women with knee OA and those without it. These biomarkers detected molecular signals of OA up to eight years before many of the women were diagnosed with the condition.The illness by x-ray.
“This is important because it provides more evidence that there are abnormalities in the joint that can be detected by blood biomarkers well before x-rays can detect OA,” Kraus said. “Early-stage osteoarthritis could provide a ‘window of opportunity’ in which to arrest the disease process and restore joint health.”
In addition to Kraus, study authors include Shuming Sun, Alexander Reed, Erik J. Soderblom, M Arthur Moseley, Kaile Zhou, Vaibhav Jain, Nigel Arden, and Yi-Ju Li.
The study received funding support from National Institutes of Health (R01-AR071450 and P30-AG028716).
