Blood tests can detect osteoarthritis in the knees eight years before it shows up on X-rays

A blood test can detect osteoarthritis in the knees up to eight years before it shows up on X-rays – leading to hope for preventative treatment.

The condition – which is thought to affect more than five million people in Britain – occurs when the cartilage in the knee joint breaks down, making it painful and stiff.

The disease is usually only discovered after it has already caused structural damage to the joint.

For many, surgery is the only option available, with more than 120,000 knee replacements performed in the UK every year.

But the new test, which can detect the condition years in advance, could provide an ‘opportunity’ to restore joint health.

But the new test, which can detect the condition years in advance, could provide a ‘window of opportunity’ to restore joint health (stock image)

The disease is usually only discovered after it has already caused structural damage to the joint (stock image)

Professor Virginia Kraus, from Duke University School of Medicine, said: ‘Currently you have to have an abnormal X-ray to show clear evidence of osteoarthritis in the knee, and by the time it shows up on your X-ray your disease is already going on. a while ahead.

‘What our blood test shows is that it is possible to detect this disease much earlier than current diagnostics allow.’

The main symptoms of osteoarthritis are joint pain, stiffness and problems moving the joint. Some people also experience swelling, tenderness, and grating or crackling sounds while moving.

Almost any joint can be affected, but it most commonly causes problems in the knees, hips and small joints of the hands. The researchers analyzed blood serum from 200 women, half with osteoarthritis and the other half without the disease.

The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, showed biomarkers – signatures in the blood – that distinguished women with knee osteoarthritis from those without.

The test caught signs of the condition up to eight years before many of the women were diagnosed through X-rays.

For many, surgery is the only option available, with more than 120,000 knee replacements performed in the UK every year (stock image)

The researchers analyzed blood serum from 200 women – half diagnosed with osteoarthritis and the other half without the disease (stock image)

“This is important because it provides evidence that there are abnormalities in the joint that can be detected by blood biomarkers long before X-rays can detect osteoarthritis,” Professor Kraus added.

‘Osteoarthritis in its early stages could provide an opportunity to halt the disease process and restore joint health.’

There are currently no treatments for osteoarthritis, but the success of future therapies could depend on identifying the disease early and slowing its progression.

The cause is unknown, but older age, obesity and being female are thought to increase the risk.