Canadian Arthritis Network – CAN
Blood test can predict progression of knee osteoarthritis
A recent discovery by Dr. Robin Poole, director of the Joint Diseases Laboratory
at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Montreal, and researchers at McGill
University will enable physicians to use a simple blood test to chart the
efficacy of new medications to slow down the progression of knee osteoarthritis
instead of having to wait for effects on joint damage to appear on an x-ray
over a two- or three-year period.
Dr. Poole, a member of the Canadian Arthritis Network that funded his
research said, "Earlier detection of disease activity modification
will mean much shorter and less expensive clinical trials and will help
researchers develop new drugs for patients more quickly." The test
uses biomarkers – indicators present in the blood or urine that
reveal what is happening in the body. In this case, the biomarkers are
breakdown products formed when type II collagen, found in joint cartilage,
is destroyed in arthritis.
Cartilage enables joints to move and when it breaks down the space between
the bones narrows, causing great discomfort and a loss of function. A
diagnosis of osteoarthritis is usually made when an x-ray of the joint
shows an excessive narrowing of the joint space. Now the detection of
biomarkers in the blood can provide doctors with important information
about the rate of joint damage. And since there are currently no disease-modifying
treatments, this new test will create considerable new opportunities to
assess drugs efficacy.
This discovery is of great interest to pharmaceutical companies because
it will make it easier for them to develop new therapies for osteoarthritis.
The biomarkers should indicate within a few months whether a new drug
is working in a clinical trial. Currently pharmaceutical companies have
to spend US$100 million on such clinical trials because osteoarthritis
progresses slowly and it takes about two to three years before evidence
of joint destruction can be detected on an x-ray. The x-ray measurements
are not too accurate and therefore clinical trials require large numbers
of patients. The shorter clinical trials will inevitably cost less and
require fewer patients. This will be an incentive for companies to bring
new drugs to the market.
IBEX Technologies Inc. of Montreal has licensed the technology so that
it can be accessed more quickly by pharmaceutical companies that want
to develop or test the efficacy of a new drug.
Dr. Poole is the scientific director of the Canadian Arthritis Network,
one of the 20 federal Networks of Centres of Excellence. CAN is dedicated
to creating a world free of arthritis through integrated, trans-disciplinary
research and development.
www.arthritisnetwork.ca
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