Roland W. Moskowitz

OARSI recommendations for the management of hip and knee osteoarthritis, Part II. OARSI evidence-based, expert consensus guidelines

PURPOSE To develop concise, patient-focussed, up to date, evidence-based, expert consensus recommendations for the management of hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA), which are adaptable and designed to assist physicians and allied health care professionals in general and specialist practise throughout the world. METHODS Sixteen experts from four medical disciplines (primary care, rheumatology, orthopaedics and evidence-based medicine), two continents and six countries (USA, UK, France, Netherlands, Sweden and Canada) formed the guidelines development team. A systematic review of existing guidelines for the management of hip and knee OA published between 1945 and January 2006 was undertaken using the validated appraisal of guidelines research and evaluation (AGREE) instrument. A core set of management modalities was generated based on the agreement between guidelines. Evidence before 2002 was based on a systematic review conducted by European League Against Rheumatism and evidence after 2002 was updated using MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, the Cochrane Library and HTA reports. The quality of evidence was evaluated, and where possible, effect size (ES), number needed to treat, relative risk or odds ratio and cost per quality-adjusted life years gained were estimated. Consensus recommendations were produced following a Delphi exercise and the strength of recommendation (SOR) for propositions relating to each modality was determined using a visual analogue scale. RESULTS Twenty-three treatment guidelines for the management of hip and knee OA were identified from the literature search, including six opinion-based, five evidence-based and 12 based on both expert opinion and research evidence. Twenty out of 51 treatment modalities addressed by these guidelines were universally recommended. ES for pain relief varied from treatment to treatment. Overall there was no statistically significant difference between non-pharmacological therapies [0.25, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.16, 0.34] and pharmacological therapies (ES=0.39, 95% CI 0.31, 0.47). Following feedback from Osteoarthritis Research International members on the draft guidelines and six Delphi rounds consensus was reached on 25 carefully worded recommendations. Optimal management of patients with OA hip or knee requires a combination of non-pharmacological and pharmacological modalities of therapy. Recommendations cover the use of 12 non-pharmacological modalities: education and self-management, regular telephone contact, referral to a physical therapist, aerobic, muscle strengthening and water-based exercises, weight reduction, walking aids, knee braces, footwear and insoles, thermal modalities, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and acupuncture. Eight recommendations cover pharmacological modalities of treatment including acetaminophen, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) non-selective and selective oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), topical NSAIDs and capsaicin, intra-articular injections of corticosteroids and hyaluronates, glucosamine and/or chondroitin sulphate for symptom relief; glucosamine sulphate, chondroitin sulphate and diacerein for possible structure-modifying effects and the use of opioid analgesics for the treatment of refractory pain. There are recommendations covering five surgical modalities: total joint replacements, unicompartmental knee replacement, osteotomy and joint preserving surgical procedures; joint lavage and arthroscopic debridement in knee OA, and joint fusion as a salvage procedure when joint replacement had failed. Strengths of recommendation and 95% CIs are provided. CONCLUSION Twenty-five carefully worded recommendations have been generated based on a critical appraisal of existing guidelines, a systematic review of research evidence and the consensus opinions of an international, multidisciplinary group of experts. The recommendations may be adapted for use in different countries or regions according to the availability of treatment modalities and SOR for each modality of therapy. These recommendations will be revised regularly following systematic review of new research evidence as this becomes available.

Steroid myopathy in connective tissue disease

In eight women with polymyositis (three patients), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (three patients), rheumatoid arthritis (one patient) and shoulder-hand syndrome (one patient), weakness developed during high dose prednisone therapy. These women were studied using serial functional and manual muscle tests, determination of serum glutamic oxaloacetic transminase (SGOT), creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and serum aldolase levels, and urinary excretion of creatine. Insidious onset of weakness was characteristic. Myalgias were seen in five patients and unusual sudden weakness in two. Weakness was always most severe in the pelvic girdle muscles; there was a lesser involvement of shoulder girdle and distal muscles. Serum muscle enzyme levels were normal in all cases, but urinary creatine excretion was invariably increased and proved to be the most sensitive laboratory indicator for clinical diagnosis and for monitoring patient improvement. Serial urinary creatine excretion and serum enzyme studies were of value in differenting steroid myopathy from a flare of myositis in patients with connective tissue disease. Diagnosis and effective management were achieved by the use of readily available laboratory and clinical procedures without resorting to muscle biopsy.

The effect of glucosamine and/or chondroitin sulfate on the progression of knee osteoarthritis: A report from the glucosamine/chondroitin arthritis intervention trial

OBJECTIVE Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee causes significant morbidity and current medical treatment is limited to symptom relief, while therapies able to slow structural damage remain elusive. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate (CS), alone or in combination, as well as celecoxib and placebo on progressive loss of joint space width (JSW) in patients with knee OA. METHODS A 24-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, conducted at 9 sites in the United States as part of the Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT), enrolled 572 patients with knee OA who satisfied radiographic criteria (Kellgren/Lawrence [K/L] grade 2 or grade 3 changes and JSW of at least 2 mm at baseline). Patients with primarily lateral compartment narrowing at any time point were excluded. Patients who had been randomized to 1 of the 5 groups in the GAIT continued to receive glucosamine 500 mg 3 times daily, CS 400 mg 3 times daily, the combination of glucosamine and CS, celecoxib 200 mg daily, or placebo over 24 months. The minimum medial tibiofemoral JSW was measured at baseline, 12 months, and 24 months. The primary outcome measure was the mean change in JSW from baseline. RESULTS The mean JSW loss at 2 years in knees with OA in the placebo group, adjusted for design and clinical factors, was 0.166 mm. No statistically significant difference in mean JSW loss was observed in any treatment group compared with the placebo group. Treatment effects on K/L grade 2 knees, but not on K/L grade 3 knees, showed a trend toward improvement relative to the placebo group. The power of the study was diminished by the limited sample size, variance of JSW measurement, and a smaller than expected loss in JSW. CONCLUSION At 2 years, no treatment achieved a predefined threshold of clinically important difference in JSW loss as compared with placebo. However, knees with K/L grade 2 radiographic OA appeared to have the greatest potential for modification by these treatments.

Application of biomarkers in the development of drugs intended for the treatment of osteoarthritis

OBJECTIVE Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic and slowly progressive disease for which biomarkers may be able to provide a more rapid indication of therapeutic responses to therapy than is currently available; this could accelerate and facilitate OA drug discovery and development programs. The goal of this document is to provide a summary and guide to the application of in vitro (biochemical and other soluble) biomarkers in the development of drugs for OA and to outline and stimulate a research agenda that will further this goal. METHODS The Biomarkers Working Group representing experts in the field of OA biomarker research from both academia and industry developed this consensus document between 2007 and 2009 at the behest of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International Federal Drug Administration initiative (OARSI FDA initiative). RESULTS This document summarizes definitions and classification systems for biomarkers, the current outcome measures used in OA clinical trials, applications and potential utility of biomarkers for development of OA therapeutics, the current state of qualification of OA-related biomarkers, pathways for biomarker qualification, critical needs to advance the use of biomarkers for drug development, recommendations regarding practices and clinical trials, and a research agenda to advance the science of OA-related biomarkers. CONCLUSIONS Although many OA-related biomarkers are currently available they exist in various states of qualification and validation. The biomarkers that are likely to have the earliest beneficial impact on clinical trials fall into two general categories, those that will allow targeting of subjects most likely to either respond and/or progress (prognostic value) within a reasonable and manageable time frame for a clinical study (for instance within 1-2 years for an OA trial), and those that provide early feedback for preclinical decision-making and for trial organizers that a drug is having the desired biochemical effect. As in vitro biomarkers are increasingly investigated in the context of specific drug treatments, advances in the field can be expected that will lead to rapid expansion of the list of available biomarkers with increasing understanding of the molecular processes that they represent.

Clinical efficacy and safety of glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate, their combination, celecoxib or placebo taken to treat osteoarthritis of the knee: 2-year results from GAIT

Background Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a major cause of pain and functional limitation in older adults, yet longer-term studies of medical treatment of OA are limited. Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate (CS), alone or in combination, as well as celecoxib and placebo on painful knee OA over 2 years. Methods A 24-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, conducted at nine sites in the US ancillary to the Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial, enrolled 662 patients with knee OA who satisfied radiographic criteria (Kellgren/Lawrence grade 2 or 3 changes and baseline joint space width of at least 2 mm). This subset continued to receive their randomised treatment: glucosamine 500 mg three times daily, CS 400 mg three times daily, the combination of glucosamine and CS, celecoxib 200 mg daily, or placebo over 24 months. The primary outcome was a 20% reduction in Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain over 24 months. Secondary outcomes included an Outcome Measures in Rheumatology/Osteoarthritis Research Society International response and change from baseline in WOMAC pain and function. Results Compared with placebo, the odds of achieving a 20% reduction in WOMAC pain were celecoxib: 1.21, glucosamine: 1.16, combination glucosamine/CS: 0.83 and CS alone: 0.69, and were not statistically significant. Conclusions Over 2 years, no treatment achieved a clinically important difference in WOMAC pain or function as compared with placebo. However, glucosamine and celecoxib showed beneficial but not significant trends. Adverse reactions were similar among treatment groups and serious adverse events were rare for all treatments.

Treatment of persistent shoulder pain with sodium hyaluronate: a randomized, controlled trial. A multicenter study.

BACKGROUND Presently, there are no approved nonoperative therapies for the ongoing treatment of persistent shoulder pain. Preliminary data suggest that intra-articular sodium hyaluronate injections may be beneficial for the treatment of persistent shoulder pain resulting from various etiologies. The present study evaluated the efficacy and safety of sodium hyaluronate (Hyalgan; molecular weight, 500 to 730 kDa) for these patients. METHODS Six hundred and sixty patients with persistent shoulder pain and limitation resulting from glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis, rotator cuff tear, and/or adhesive capsulitis who had had a failure of conventional therapy were enrolled in this double-blind, randomized, phosphate-buffered saline solution-controlled study, and 456 patients completed twenty-six weeks of follow-up. Patients were randomized to receive either five weekly intra-articular injections of sodium hyaluronate, three weekly intra-articular injections of sodium hyaluronate followed by two weekly intra-articular injections of saline solution, or five weekly intra-articular injections of saline solution. The main outcomes were improvement in terms of shoulder pain on movement at thirteen weeks after the initiation of treatment (as assessed with use of a 100-mm visual analog scale) and the treatment effect throughout twenty-six weeks. RESULTS For the overall intent-to-treat population, patients who were managed with sodium hyaluronate had greater pain relief than controls did; significant differences were noted at Week 7 (for the five-injection hyaluronate group), Week 17 (for the three and five-injection hyaluronate groups), and Week 26 (for the three-injection hyaluronate group). Analysis of the stratified populations clearly established that this effect was due to benefits experienced by the patients with osteoarthritis. The treatment effect through twenty-six weeks was significant in patients with osteoarthritis in the three-injection (p = 0.003) and five-injection (p = 0.002) groups, with no significant difference for either regimen in patients without osteoarthritis. The safety profile was very favorable, with no product-related serious adverse effects and no between-group differences for any reported adverse event. CONCLUSIONS Although the primary end point of this study (that is, improvement in terms of shoulder pain at thirteen weeks) was not achieved, the overall findings, including secondary end points, indicate that sodium hyaluronate (500 to 730 kDa) is effective and well tolerated for the treatment of osteoarthritis and persistent shoulder pain that is refractory to other standard nonoperative interventions.

A National Public Health Agenda for Osteoarthritis 2010

● rthritis is the most common cause of disability, and osteoarthritis is our nation’s most common form of arthritis. This serious, painful and poentially life-altering joint disease places severe limits n daily activity and quality of life for over 27 million mericans. Affecting mainly hands, knees and hips, steoarthritis (OA) often causes weakness and disabilty, interferes with work productivity, results in joint eplacement and generates inordinate socioeconomic osts. In view of the fact that the U.S. population is ging and obesity is on the rise, the prevalence, health mpact and economic consequences of OA are expected o increase dramatically. Now is the time for bold and innovative action to educe the burden of this growing public health issue. he National Public Health Agenda for Osteoarthritis ets the stage for a collaborative and focused initiative o achieve three overall goals over the next three to five ears:

Cartilage expression of a type II collagen mutation in an inherited form of osteoarthritis associated with a mild chondrodysplasia.

In a family who expressed severe dominantly inherited osteoarthritis, the underlying mutation was traced by genomic sequencing to a single base change which predicts an amino acid substitution of cysteine for arginine at residue 519 of the triple-helical domain of the type II collagen molecule (Ala-Kokko, L., C. T. Baldwin, R. W. Moskowitz, and D. J. Prockop. 1990. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 87:6565-6568). In the present study we examined whether this predicted protein phenotype was evident in articular cartilage obtained from an affected family member who underwent hip surgery. The cartilage collagen was solubilized by CNBr digestion. Cysteine residues were labeled by reduction and alkylation with 14C-iodoacetate. Collagen CNBr-peptides were fractionated by ion exchange and reverse phase column chromatography. One peptide from the alpha 1(II) chain, alpha 1(II) CB8, was found to be radiolabeled. Tryptic peptides were prepared from it and identified by microsequence analysis. The results show that approximately one-quarter of the alpha 1(II) chains present in the polymeric extracellular collagen of the patients cartilage contained the Arg519-to-Cys substitution. The protein exhibited other abnormal properties including disulfide-bonded alpha 1(II)-dimers and signs of posttranslational overmodification. The premature cartilage failure and osteoarthritis are presumably a result of the abnormal type II collagen being expressed in the cartilage matrix.

Metabolic responses of cartilage in experimentally induced osteoarthritis.

Serial metabolic responses in developing osteoarthritis induced in the right knees of a rabbit model of partial meniscectomy (PM) were studied. Controls were sham-operated (SH) right knees, left knees of all operated animals, nd right and left knees of a nonoperated series. Glycosaminoglycan and protein synthesis and cell replication were separately analysed utilising 35 SO4, 14C-Glycine, and 3H-thymidine, respectively. Pitting, ulceration, and osteophytes, seen only in the PM knees, increased over the 12-week period of study. 3H-thymidine and 14C-glycine incorporations by PM cartilage were increased at 3 weeks, less than nonoperated control animals at 9 weeks, and approximated to those of controls at 12 weeks. 35 SO4 incorporation by tibial osteophytes was decreased at 9 and 12 weeks. Similar isotope incorporations seen after partial meniscectomy and sham surgery represented a nonspecific response to arthrotomy. Cartilage synthetic activity did not increase in parallel with degenerative change.

Estradiol receptors in articular chondrocytes.

Abstract Recent experimental studies suggest a role for estrogens in chondrocyte metabolism and the development and treatment of osteoarthritis. Type I cytoplasmic estradiol receptors were found in articular chondrocytes. The presence of these receptors supports a possible mechanism for previous observations on estrogen suppressive effects on cartilage proteoglycan synthesis and offers a basis for further study on the role of estrogens in the physiology of cartilage and in the pathogenesis and treatment of osteoarthritis.