Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




Blood Test Identifies Osteoarthritis Progression More Accurately than Current Methods

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 27 Jan 2023

Osteoarthritis in the knee is the most common joint disorder and a major cause of disability but currently lacks effective treatments. More...

As a result of the absence of an effective method to identify and accurately predict the risk of osteoarthritis progression, researchers have not been able to include the right subjects in clinical trials for testing the benefits of a therapy. Now, a new blood test that can identify progression of osteoarthritis in the knee has proved to be more accurate than the current methods, providing researchers with an important tool to speed up research and discover new therapies.

The test developed by researchers at Duke University School of Medicine (Durham, NC, USA) works by detecting a biomarker that was identified after isolating more than a dozen molecules related to the progression of osteoarthritis in the blood of patients. After further honing, the team narrowed the blood test to a set of 15 markers that correspond to 13 total proteins. These markers were able to accurately predict 73% of progressors from non-progressors in 596 people diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis. This prediction rate for the new blood biomarker is much better than the current approaches. For instance, the assessment of baseline structural osteoarthritis and pain severity is 59% accurate, while the current biomarker testing molecules from urine is 58% accurate. Additionally, the new, blood-based marker set also successfully identified a group of patients whose joints exhibited progression in X-ray scans, irrespective of pain symptoms.

“In addition to being more accurate, this new biomarker has an additional advantage of being a blood-based test,” said Virginia Byers Kraus, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study. “Blood is a readily accessible biospecimen, making it an important way to identify people for clinical trial enrollment and those most in need of treatment.”

“In the immediate future, this new test will help identify people with high risk of progressive disease - those likely to have both pain and worsening damage identified on X-rays - who should be enrolled in clinical trials. Then we can learn if a therapy is beneficial,” added Kraus.

Related Links:
Duke University School of Medicine 


New
Gold Member
Cardiovascular Risk Test
Metabolic Syndrome Array I & II
Collection and Transport System
PurSafe Plus®
New
Hemodynamic System Monitor
OptoMonitor
New
Pipette
Accumax Smart Series
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








Channels

Hematology

view channel
Image: New research points to protecting blood during radiation therapy (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Pioneering Model Measures Radiation Exposure in Blood for Precise Cancer Treatments

Scientists have long focused on protecting organs near tumors during radiotherapy, but blood — a vital, circulating tissue — has largely been excluded from dose calculations. Each blood cell passing through... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The VENTANA HER2 (4B5) test is now CE-IVDR approved (Photo courtesy of Roche)

Companion Diagnostic Test Identifies HER2-Ultralow Breast Cancer and Biliary Tract Cancer Patients

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Europe, with more than 564,000 new cases and 145,000 deaths annually. Metastatic breast cancer is rising in younger populations and remains the leading cause... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: An adult fibrosarcoma case report has shown the importance of early diagnosis and targeted therapy (Photo courtesy of Sultana and Sailaja/Oncoscience)

Accurate Pathological Analysis Improves Treatment Outcomes for Adult Fibrosarcoma

Adult fibrosarcoma is a rare and highly aggressive malignancy that develops in connective tissue and often affects the limbs, trunk, or head and neck region. Diagnosis is complex because tumors can mimic... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: Conceptual design of the CORAL capsule for microbial sampling in the small intestine (H. Mohammed et al., Device (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.device.2025.100904)

Coral-Inspired Capsule Samples Hidden Bacteria from Small Intestine

The gut microbiome has been linked to conditions ranging from immune disorders to mental health, yet conventional stool tests often fail to capture bacterial populations in the small intestine.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.