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Osteoarthritis, part of life or a curable disease? A bird's-eye view

Englund, Martin LU orcid (2023) In Journal of Internal Medicine 293(6). p.681-693
Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease caused by disruption of joint homeostasis by a variety of systemic and biomechanical factors. The disease is characterized by degradation of cartilage and other joint tissues, and low-grade inflammation which may result in pain, reduced function, and disability. The disease appears to have ancient origins, with findings of OA recognized in fossilized bones from birdlike dinosaurs living some 130 million years ago. Today, the burden of OA in the world's population is steadily increasing due to aging and often rising rates of obesity. Structural findings, indicative of the disease, are also frequent in asymptomatic persons, which make the distinction between disease and normal aging sometimes... (More)

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease caused by disruption of joint homeostasis by a variety of systemic and biomechanical factors. The disease is characterized by degradation of cartilage and other joint tissues, and low-grade inflammation which may result in pain, reduced function, and disability. The disease appears to have ancient origins, with findings of OA recognized in fossilized bones from birdlike dinosaurs living some 130 million years ago. Today, the burden of OA in the world's population is steadily increasing due to aging and often rising rates of obesity. Structural findings, indicative of the disease, are also frequent in asymptomatic persons, which make the distinction between disease and normal aging sometimes challenging. OA is frequently associated with comorbidity in the form of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and depressive symptoms. The current management and treatments largely rely on contextual factors, and the actual effects of the intended therapeutic element of today's interventions are minor. The different mechanistic pathways (endotypes) and clinical characteristics (phenotypes) of OA make the development of disease-modifying treatments challenging. Current development of drug candidates, aimed to restore joint homeostasis, is mainly targeting either inhibition of catabolic factors or stimulation of anabolic factors. However, there is yet no breakthrough in stage III clinical trials. Earlier diagnosis, better knowledge of endotypes—for example, by new insights into soluble biomarkers, and compositional imaging—and more careful selection of patients into clinical trials are possible tools to aid development of future therapies.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
epidemiology, etiology, osteoarthritis, pain, therapeutics
in
Journal of Internal Medicine
volume
293
issue
6
pages
13 pages
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85151410342
  • pmid:37004213
ISSN
0954-6820
DOI
10.1111/joim.13634
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ac5d802a-4672-42fa-b09b-48b4c5d43047
date added to LUP
2023-05-23 15:45:28
date last changed
2024-06-15 03:20:04
@article{ac5d802a-4672-42fa-b09b-48b4c5d43047,
  abstract     = {{<p>Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease caused by disruption of joint homeostasis by a variety of systemic and biomechanical factors. The disease is characterized by degradation of cartilage and other joint tissues, and low-grade inflammation which may result in pain, reduced function, and disability. The disease appears to have ancient origins, with findings of OA recognized in fossilized bones from birdlike dinosaurs living some 130 million years ago. Today, the burden of OA in the world's population is steadily increasing due to aging and often rising rates of obesity. Structural findings, indicative of the disease, are also frequent in asymptomatic persons, which make the distinction between disease and normal aging sometimes challenging. OA is frequently associated with comorbidity in the form of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and depressive symptoms. The current management and treatments largely rely on contextual factors, and the actual effects of the intended therapeutic element of today's interventions are minor. The different mechanistic pathways (endotypes) and clinical characteristics (phenotypes) of OA make the development of disease-modifying treatments challenging. Current development of drug candidates, aimed to restore joint homeostasis, is mainly targeting either inhibition of catabolic factors or stimulation of anabolic factors. However, there is yet no breakthrough in stage III clinical trials. Earlier diagnosis, better knowledge of endotypes—for example, by new insights into soluble biomarkers, and compositional imaging—and more careful selection of patients into clinical trials are possible tools to aid development of future therapies.</p>}},
  author       = {{Englund, Martin}},
  issn         = {{0954-6820}},
  keywords     = {{epidemiology; etiology; osteoarthritis; pain; therapeutics}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{681--693}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Journal of Internal Medicine}},
  title        = {{Osteoarthritis, part of life or a curable disease? A bird's-eye view}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joim.13634}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/joim.13634}},
  volume       = {{293}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}