Osteoarthritis and Crystal Diseases Clinical Studies Group
Welcome to the website of the Arthritis Research Campaign
Clinical Studies Group (CSG) for Osteoarthritis and Crystal
Diseases. The Osteoarthritis and crystal diseases clinical studies
group (OA-CSG) is chaired by Professor Philip Conaghan.
Annual report 2009
For more information on the recent activities of the
Osteoarthritis and crystal diseases CSG please read the latest annual
report.
Steering group
The first task of the OA-CSG was to develop a small steering
group with a range of expertise and knowledge to keep abreast of
the current research agenda in osteoarthritis and crystal diseases,
talk to our constituency and to foster strategic osteoarthritis
research and promote projects fulfilling strategic research
goals.
The current steering group comprises:
| Member |
Principal research interests |
| Professor Philip Conaghan (Chair) Professor of Musculoskeletal
Disease, University of Leeds |
Imaging and Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, and Outcome
Measurement |
Dr Fraser Birrell
Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer Musculoskeletal Research Group,
Newcastle University |
Population occurrence, prediction, impact & treatment of
osteoarthritis |
| Professor Mike Doherty Professor of Rheumatology University of
Nottingham |
Clinical, epidemiological and genetic aspects of OA and crystal
arthritis |
Dr George Peat
Senior Lecturer in Clinical Epidemiology Arthritis Research UK
National Primary Care Centre Keele University |
Occurrence, presentation and course of joint pain and
osteoarthritis |
| Professor Hamish Simpson Professor of Orthopaedics and Trauma
University of Edinburgh |
|
Dr Rose Maciewicz
Chief Scientist Respiratory & Inflammation Research |
AstraZeneca Translational medicine approaches (imaging,
biomarkers, genetics) applied to respiratory and inflammatory
disease to facilitate early clinical development |
|
Jo Cumming
Helplines Manager Arthritis Care
Patient Public representative
|
|
|
Alison Carr
Health Services Researcher
|
|
|
Christine Thomas
Consumer Advocate
|
|
The membership of this committee is not fixed and various
members of the
OA
community
will be co-opted at appropriate times, just as sub-committees may
be required, for example, to develop a particular study.
Group meetings
The CSG
members meet by regular teleconferences and occasional face to face
meetings.
Strategy
Read the strategy.
The aim of the steering group is to develop a nationally agreed
strategic plan for intervention research, and to support a
portfolio of research aligned to that plan, that will be conducted
in collaboration with the UK Comprehensive Clinical Research
Network and industry.
While there has been a recent revolution in the management of
inflammatory arthritis with the introduction of biologic therapies
and early aggressive treatment, the same cannot be said of
osteoarthritis (OA).
OA
is the most prevalent
form of arthritis, and unlike RA, it is on the rise, in an ageing
and increasingly obese Western world. A recent study by Arthritis
Care reported that 81% of people with
OA
experience constant pain and 72% have
important co-morbidities, such as hypertension or depression. There
are few very effective therapies.
Gout remains the commonest inflammatory arthritis in men but
despite some effective therapies issues remain concerning diagnosis
and optimal management.
What are the current research strategies for
OA
and gout?
The Osteoarthritis and Crystal Disease Clinical Study Group has
undertaken a survey of research priorities for
OA
and gout from a wide range of health
professionals, including colleagues in the fields of obesity,
orthotics and psychology. Read the strategy for identifying
these research priorities.
Priority study questions
Final Osteoarthritis (non-surgical) priority research
areas:
- Analgesics: long-term effectiveness and optimal patterns
- Orthotics and other non-surgical interventions to correct
adverse biomechanics (e.g. footwear)
- Packages of care; combinations of pharmacological and
non-pharmacological treatments
- Predictors of selective response to treatment (targeting)
- Management of
OA
in the
very elderly (including polypharmacy)
Final osteoarthritis (surgical) priority research
areas:
- Studies on the short and long term effect of different bearing
surfaces
- Studies on relationship between quality and volume in total
joint replacement
- Investigate the pathogenic steps in arthritis that could be
explored for potential preventative and symptomatic treatments for
arthritis in particular for the soft tissue: Relevance of
interventions on meniscal and ligament tissue to
OA
progression
- To examine the most cost-effective way of providing surgical
interventions.
Final Gout priority research areas
- In the long-term management of patients with gout, how
effective are non-pharmacological interventions (education, dietary
and lifestyle modification)?
- When commencing urate-lowering therapy, is there a need for
prophylaxis against acute attacks (with either colchicine or NSAID)
if an escalating dose regimen of urate-lowering therapy, as
recommended by EULAR and BSR, is used?
- In the long-term management of patients with gout, what is the
optimum therapeutic target, in terms of serum uric acid level, that
will ensure crystal dissolution and eventual “cure” of gout?
- In the management of acute gout, what is the efficacy and
tolerability of lower dose regimens of colchicine (e.g. 0.5 mg 2-3
times daily) compared to either placebo or to traditional regimens
(1 mg loading dose followed by frequent dosing)?
How do I submit a proposal?
If you have a concept for an interventional clinical trial in
OA
or gout that fits our
current strategy, then we welcome submission of a 1-2 page
expression of interest that outlines your proposal. We
will then feedback from the CSG.
Contact details
For further information please contact Dr Sarah Kingsbury on
s.r.kingsbury@leeds.ac.uk.