Osteoarthritis and molecular markers A rheumatologist's perspective

Abstract

OA is a common age-related condition in man, but it has a restricted inter and intra-articular distribution. It is rare before middle age, after which its prevalence rises steeply. However, only some joints are commonly affected—the distal interphalangeal and thumb base joints in the hands, medial tibiofemoral and lateral patello-femoral joints of the knees, and superior pole of the hip being particularly vulnerable in the peripheral skeleton. In other animals OA sometimes appears in older individuals, particularly in relation to trauma, but again, not all joints are affected. For example, the vulnerable joints in the horse appear to be those that have evolved most recently (Hutton 1994), and elderly rhesus macaque monkeys develop OA of the knees and distal interphalangeal joints, but not their thumb base (Lim et al. 1994).