Serum Biomarkers Predict Knee OA Before Radiographic Abnormalities

FRIDAY, April 26, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Serum biomarkers can predict knee osteoarthritis before radiographic abnormalities, according to a study published in the April 26 issue of Science Advances.

Virginia Byers Kraus, M.D., Ph.D., from the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute in Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues examined serum biomarkers that could predict knee OA before radiographic abnormalities in a cohort of 200 women.

The researchers found that for differentiating those who developed OA from age-matched individuals who did not go on to develop OA up to eight years later, six serum peptides, corresponding to six proteins, reached an area under the curve probability of 77 percent. This prediction was superior to traditional prediction based on age and body mass index or on knee pain (area under the curve, 51 and 57 percent, respectively). Prolonged molecular derangement of joint tissue was identified before the onset of radiographic OA biomarkers. Fifty-eight percent of the 24 protein biomarkers predicting incident knee OA also predicted progression of knee OA.

“Our results also provide valuable information for understanding the molecular events of early disease that could inform strategies to develop disease-modifying drugs for preclinical OA,” the authors write.

Three authors are inventors on a patent related to OA progression biomarkers.

Abstract/Full Text