What if you could predict the progression of knee osteoarthritis through a simple blood test? That’s the vision of Dr. Virginia Byers Kraus, a professor at Duke University School of Medicine. Knee osteoarthritis (OA) affects 60 million adults in the US. It is projected to increase to 78 million by 2040, yet we don’t have sensitive tools for diagnosis or disease-modifying drugs or treatments.
Because osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that increases with age and weight gain, it’s viewed as a “wear and tear” disease, almost inevitable as we age. Kraus rejects that idea. In the latest episode of the Scope of Things podcast, Kraus compares it to malaria, a condition that was thought to be unavoidable for years, simply the result of “bad air.” Read more.