BRISTOL SCIENTISTS AIM TO DEVELOP OSTEOARTHRITIS TEST

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BRISTOL SCIENTISTS AIM TO DEVELOP OSTEOARTHRITIS TEST
16 April 2007 - University of Bristol

Bristol researchers are hoping to develop simple blood tests which could predict the severity of osteoarthritis, a common, disabling joint condition which affects more than two million people in the UK.

Dr Mohammed Sharif, a lecturer in anatomy at the University of Bristol, and Dr John Kirwan, consultant rheumatologist at Bristol Royal Infirmary, have been awarded a two-year grant of £61,298 from the Arthritis Research Campaign to try and identify reliable markers of osteoarthritis in a group of 230 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.

Osteoarthritis is a major cause of disability which causes stiff, painful joints, and is a condition for which there is neither an effective treatment to stop the disease worsening, nor a cure. The only available treatments are pain relief and joint replacement surgery for those with end-stage disease.

Dr Sharif has identified a number of molecules (so-called bio-markers of disease) to investigate how osteoarthritis develops. Dr Sharif and Dr Kirwan and other clinical colleagues at the BRI have been studying patients with early osteoarthritis in order to learn more about how it originates and develops.

A major aim of the study is to develop simple blood tests that will identify which patients will develop severe osteoarthritis, so that they can be targeted and treated more effectively.

Dr Sharif said: "The main goal of this research is to identify a simple marker which can be measured non-invasively in blood or urine, to identify which patients are likely to get worse and require joint surgery."

These selected patients may be advised to be aware of any risk factors associated with the progression of the disease such as obesity, and repeated use of the same joints.

The arc grant will enable Dr Sharif to analyse a series of biomarkers in sequential serum and urine samples collected over five years from groups of osteoarthritis patients. He will identify which biomarkers are most closely associated with the disease process, outcome, and joint changes. The combined clinical, imaging and biochemical studies will have the power to identify phases when a patient is most likely to benefit from a particular treatment, and provide an invaluable resource for further investigation of the development of osteoarthritis.

http://www.bris.ac.uk

About: University of Bristol
The University College of Bristol opened in 1876, after six years of discussions and controversy, in a bid to bring university culture to the provinces. It was the first college in the country to admit men and women on an equal footing.

The University’s Research and Enterprise Development (RED) division was launched in 2000 to stimulate and support an entrepreneurial culture and encourage the growth of technology-based business.

2003 saw the completion of the Dorothy Hodgkin building, named after the University’s fifth Chancellor. The £18 million building is dedicated to research in neuroendocrinology. 2003 also saw the opening of the University’s £5 million Centre for Sport, Exercise and Health.

Work on a new, state-of-the-art engineering building is due to be completed in early 2004. The £20 million BLADE project (Bristol Laboratory for Advanced Dynamics Engineering) will bring together the Engineering Faculty’s six departments to establish Europe’s most advanced dynamics engineering research facilities.

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