DEFINING THE ROLE OF MOLECULAR MARKERS TO MONITOR DISEASE, INTERVENTION, AND CARTILAGE BREAKDOWN IN OSTEOARTHRITIS

Osteoarthritis (OA) is associated with a loss of the normal balance be tween synthesis and degradation of the macromolecules that provide art icular cartilage with its biomechanical and functional properties. The destruction of joint cartilage involves the degradation of matrix mol ecules which are released as fragments to joint fluid, blood, and urin e, where they may be detected, for example, by immunoassay. It has bee n suggested that such molecular markers of cartilage matrix metabolism could be used as markers to determine diagnosis, prognosis, and sever ity, to predict response to therapy and monitor response to therapy, a nd to identify disease mechanisms on the molecular level. Since marker s reflect ongoing dynamic changes in joints, they are perhaps most lik ely to serve as measures of prognosis and measures of response to trea tment. Some markers may serve multiple functions. To function as adequ ate tests, they should meet a set of standards. It is only when marker s have met such criteria that they will be accepted in the research an d clinical community and will become widely used.