New Imaging Methods for Joints Provide Boost for Combating OsteoarthritisSeptember 08, 1999Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disorder in the UK and affects more than one million people. In this disease the cartilage, the tough, slippery tissue that coats the end of the bones and provides smooth movement and shock absorbence, roughens and thins, and the surrounding bone grows thicker. Approximately 60% of people have osteoarthritis by the age of 60, and at present there are no drugs whatsoever to treat the disease. Drug companies are hampered because progress of the disease is very slow, making the effects of potential drugs hard to assess. The standard methods to investigate joints, such as X-rays, do not allow an accurate assessment of the quality or thickness of the cartilage. Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a well established technique that can provide images of the internal structure of the human body. The new computer processing methods developed by Professor Hall enable the whole joint under investigation to be imaged quickly and accurately, obtaining reliable, reproducible measurements of the quality and quantity of cartilage. This high resolution assessment of the cartilage is vital, as other methods may miss important changes in localised areas of the joint, if overall there is little change. Professor Hall hopes his new techniques will allow pharmaceutical companies to finally start to get to grips with developing drugs to combat joint diseases. It will now be possible to monitor any small changes that a potential drug may cause in the joint, and thus assess its efficacy long before the patient notices any affect. "Unless the MRI method works as we hope, the development of drugs for osteoarthritis will be delayed," he says. Center for Reading Research |
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