Deborah Alsina MBE
CEO, Versus Arthritis
Ten million people in the UK live with osteoarthritis, although only half are diagnosed. One in two of us will experience the condition in our lifetimes, with 350,000 people newly diagnosed each year.
Osteoarthritis occurs when the body can no longer properly maintain and repair one or more joints, which causes the cartilage to become thin and uneven, leading to pain, stiffness, swelling and deformity in the joint. Arthritis isn’t an inevitable part of ageing, and joints are not like car tyres destined to wear down and be replaced; they are made of complex living tissue that our bodies constantly repair and maintain.
Effects of osteoarthritis and treatment options
The pain and fatigue of osteoarthritis can dominate significant aspects of life, including mental, financial and social wellbeing. Treatment focuses on things people can do for themselves, such as being more physically active or maintaining a healthy body weight, which can be difficult.
Medicines for osteoarthritis include tablets and creams to help with pain and steroid injections, which often only provide short-term improvement. If these measures are not helpful enough, then surgery can be an option, including total joint replacements. While this is usually very effective, it is not suitable for everyone and is only recommended for people with severe pain.
We need better treatments to prevent, detect
and treat osteoarthritis quickly and accurately.
Developing improved osteoarthritis treatments
We need better treatments to prevent, detect and treat osteoarthritis quickly and accurately. Versus Arthritis is funding research that will help develop viable treatment options, help clinicians spot osteoarthritis faster and offer vital support sooner to prevent the debilitating pain and disability of this condition.
Researchers, such as Dr David Wilkinson, are improving our understanding of the condition and aiming to develop new treatments. Dr Wilkinson is studying the way the cartilage — a smooth cushioning substance that coats the ends of bones — becomes thinner in osteoarthritis. This loss of cartilage is an active process driven by enzymes called proteases. He is looking at which proteases have the most important role to play in these joint changes, hoping that they can ultimately be targeted with new therapies.
The process of cartilage loss in osteoarthritis is an active one, which gives us hope that something can be done to stop it in its tracks or at least slow down its progression. Versus Arthritis will continue to invest in research to allow everyone with arthritis the opportunity to live the life they choose, with real hope of a cure.
