Author: Aldiyarbek Nurlan
Editor: Merentsova Anastasia
Osteoarthritis affects approximately 2.2 million Australians and more than 300 million people worldwide, with those over 45 years of age at greatest risk. Also, being overweight and existing joint injuries increase the risk of developing osteoarthritis.
This is one of the most common degenerative joint diseases, however, there are few diagnostic tools, treatment options, and effective medicines. Existing OA biomarkers are still largely focused on body fluids, which are neither reliable nor sensitive enough to map all changes in cartilage damage.
By understanding the biomolecular structure at the tissue level and how joint tissues interact in the early stages of osteoarthritis, the researchers say any molecular changes could be targeted to help slow the progression of the disease with appropriate drugs or treatments.
The researchers talk about the promise of mass spectrometric imaging (MSI) for the detection of OA. Today, the diagnosis of osteoarthritis is largely dependent on X-rays or MRIs, but they provide limited information and do not detect biomolecular changes that signal cartilage and bone abnormalities. However, alternative imaging techniques such as MSI can identify specific molecules and organic compounds in a tissue section.
The researchers talk about the promise of mass spectrometric imaging (MSI) for the detection of OA. Today, the diagnosis of osteoarthritis is largely dependent on X-rays or MRIs, but they provide limited information and do not detect biomolecular changes that signal cartilage and bone abnormalities. However, alternative imaging techniques such as MSI can identify specific molecules and organic compounds in a tissue section.
MSI has already demonstrated its strengths in identifying biomarkers for various types of cancer, and the researchers hope they can do the same for the early diagnosis of osteoarthritis.
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201012103149.htm
