Turning the Research Spotlight on Hip Arthritis
Grants help identify potential participants for osteoarthritis clinical trials.
By Vandana Suresh | Oct. 4, 2024
The hip joint is highly vulnerable to osteoarthritis (OA), with one in four people over age 85 likely to develop this degenerative and painful condition. However, hip OA is understudied compared to knee OA, and more insight is needed to understand its impacts.
Clinical trials are critical to the discovery and development of evidence-based therapies. But identifying patients at high risk for developing hip OA in a short time (FastOA) is key to being able to conduct these clinical trials.
This year, as part of an initiative by the Arthritis Foundation’s Osteoarthritis Clinical Trial Network called FastOA, two funding awards have been conferred to investigators seeking to identify and define patient populations at risk of developing "FastOA" of the hip. The awardees will receive $150,000 for a year for their projects.
“The incidence of hip OA continues to increase,” said Jason Kim, vice president of osteoarthritis research at the Arthritis Foundation. “Funding these projects is an important step in supporting research that will improve the lives of arthritis patients by accelerating the development of new treatments.”
Sex can play a role in the development and experience of arthritis. Although both sexes are affected by hip OA, the condition is slightly more prevalent in women than men and increases with age. However, there are risk factors that can increase a woman's chances of developing hip OA. For example, nearly two-thirds of those who have hip dysplasia or femoroacetabular impingement syndrome are women. Women are also at higher risk for more pain and worse outcomes following hip surgery.
Using high-resolution MRI, grant awardee Cara Lewis, PT, PhD, associate professor of physical therapy, rehabilitation sciences and medicine at Boston University, and her team will evaluate hip morphology and movement in young females (18- to 30-year-olds). They will focus on those who played competitive sports that are associated with higher prevalence of hip dysplasia, including ice hockey, soccer, distance running or dance.
With their grant, awardees Michael Willey, MD, assistant professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation, and Jessica Goetz, PhD, associate professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation, at the University of Iowa, will use a computer-modeling technique called discrete element analysis (DEA) to establish computational biomarkers for the development of hip OA in men and women after surgical treatment of hip dysplasia.
“We at the Arthritis Foundation are committed to improving the lives of those living with arthritis,” said Foundation President and CEO Steven Taylor. “With the Hip OA awards, we hope to support and encourage research into one of the most commonly affected joints. Hip osteoarthritis has received less attention but is vital to our understanding of the disease.”
2024 Awardees for the FastOA Initiative, Hip Cohorts
1. Cara Lewis, PT, PhD, Boston University
$150,000
ATHENA: Athlete Total Hip Evaluation: Normal or Arthritic
2. Michael Willey, MD, and Jessica Goetz, PhD, University of Iowa
$150,000
Predicting FastOA in Dysplastic Hips Using Articular Contact Mechanics
The hip joint is highly vulnerable to osteoarthritis (OA), with one in four people over age 85 likely to develop this degenerative and painful condition. However, hip OA is understudied compared to knee OA, and more insight is needed to understand its impacts.
Clinical trials are critical to the discovery and development of evidence-based therapies. But identifying patients at high risk for developing hip OA in a short time (FastOA) is key to being able to conduct these clinical trials.
This year, as part of an initiative by the Arthritis Foundation’s Osteoarthritis Clinical Trial Network called FastOA, two funding awards have been conferred to investigators seeking to identify and define patient populations at risk of developing "FastOA" of the hip. The awardees will receive $150,000 for a year for their projects.
“The incidence of hip OA continues to increase,” said Jason Kim, vice president of osteoarthritis research at the Arthritis Foundation. “Funding these projects is an important step in supporting research that will improve the lives of arthritis patients by accelerating the development of new treatments.”
Sex can play a role in the development and experience of arthritis. Although both sexes are affected by hip OA, the condition is slightly more prevalent in women than men and increases with age. However, there are risk factors that can increase a woman's chances of developing hip OA. For example, nearly two-thirds of those who have hip dysplasia or femoroacetabular impingement syndrome are women. Women are also at higher risk for more pain and worse outcomes following hip surgery.
Using high-resolution MRI, grant awardee Cara Lewis, PT, PhD, associate professor of physical therapy, rehabilitation sciences and medicine at Boston University, and her team will evaluate hip morphology and movement in young females (18- to 30-year-olds). They will focus on those who played competitive sports that are associated with higher prevalence of hip dysplasia, including ice hockey, soccer, distance running or dance.
With their grant, awardees Michael Willey, MD, assistant professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation, and Jessica Goetz, PhD, associate professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation, at the University of Iowa, will use a computer-modeling technique called discrete element analysis (DEA) to establish computational biomarkers for the development of hip OA in men and women after surgical treatment of hip dysplasia.
“We at the Arthritis Foundation are committed to improving the lives of those living with arthritis,” said Foundation President and CEO Steven Taylor. “With the Hip OA awards, we hope to support and encourage research into one of the most commonly affected joints. Hip osteoarthritis has received less attention but is vital to our understanding of the disease.”
2024 Awardees for the FastOA Initiative, Hip Cohorts
1. Cara Lewis, PT, PhD, Boston University$150,000
ATHENA: Athlete Total Hip Evaluation: Normal or Arthritic
2. Michael Willey, MD, and Jessica Goetz, PhD, University of Iowa$150,000
Predicting FastOA in Dysplastic Hips Using Articular Contact Mechanics
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