What are we doing to help treat OA?

Currently there are no medical or surgical treatments which slow or prevent osteoarthritis – the goal of the Centre is to change this by carrying out research into the condition, and then turn those research findings into benefit for patients.

This includes finding targets for new treatments, new tests or biomarkers for the condition and personalised approaches for individual patients, so improving symptom management.

By improving the understanding of the processes underlying the condition, we aim to identify better ways of diagnosing and treating osteoarthritis. The questions our work is addressing include:

• What are the processes in cells that cause OA?
• What causes pain in OA?
• Can connective tissues be encouraged to repair?
• What factors influence the course of OA?
• What controls enzymes which damage cartilage?
• How do bone changes affect progression of OA?
• Can imaging techniques identify OA?