Biomarkers in osteoarthritis.
OBJECTIVE
Biomarker discovery and validation for osteoarthritis have accelerated over the past several years, coincident with an evolving understanding of joint tissue molecules and their complex interactions, and the compelling need for improved osteoarthritis outcome measures in clinical trials. This review highlights advances in osteoarthritis-related biomarker research within the past year.


RESULTS
The studies in the past year involving biochemical markers in humans can be assigned to one of four categories: new approaches and new biomarkers, exploratory studies in specialized disease subsets, large cross-sectional validation studies, and longitudinal studies, with and without an intervention.


CONCLUSIONS
Most these studies have examined the association of a biomarker with some aspect of the natural history of osteoarthritis. As illustrated by the six studies reviewed here that included therapeutic interventions, however, several biomarkers are emerging that display credible association with disease modification. The expanding pool of informative osteoarthritis-related biomarkers is expected to positively impact the development of therapeutics for this disease and, it is hoped, ultimately clinical care.
Kraus
Virginia Byers
VB
Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. vbk@acpub.duke.edu
D015415:Biomarkers; D006801:Humans; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*
D015415:Biomarkers