Grant Awarded for MRI Study of Osteoarthritis Biomarkers

Radiology Today—November 12, 2013

Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, will share $1 million awarded by the Arthritis Foundation to validate the use of new MRI techniques and newly identified biomarkers in identifying early stages of osteoarthritis.

“There is no magic bullet for treatment of osteoarthritis yet, but once we have a potential oral drug, therapeutic injection, or surgery for treating the disease, we will need a way to identify patients who might need it and follow their response to the treatment,” said Scott Rodeo, M.D., orthopedic surgeon and co-chief of the sports medicine and shoulder service at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and co-principal investigator of the tripartite grant. “Using X-rays to measure joint space narrowing is the gold standard for assessing the presence and progression of osteoarthritis, but X-rays are next to worthless for detecting the early changes of arthritis. This study will help us understand the early factors that lead to the degenerative changes in ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injured knees.”

Read the full story at radiologytoday.com.