Obesity and osteoarthritis (OA) are intimately related; obesity is a modifiable risk factor for OA and weight loss may offer a potential non-invasive therapy for disease prevention and for slowing progression in obese individuals. To date, however, the effects of weight loss on joint structure and cartilage biochemistry, in particular in the early stages of disease, have been inconclusive; studies have been limited by short-term follow-up and have focused on advanced disease stages. The proposed study utilizes imaging data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative, which facilitates the assessment of early disease stages i conjunction with the longitudinal evolution of OA; using this unique and rich dataset, this study aims to determine the impact of weight loss on the biochemical and morphologic changes at the knee joint and their relationship with physical activity and clinical symptoms over a period of 8 years. We will use MRI T2 relaxation time measurements, which assess cartilage collagen integrity and water content as well as semi-quantitative morphological MR grading. We will comprehensively investigate the whole knee joint including the cartilage, meniscus, bone marrow, and joint space in subjects with weight loss and controls with constant weight over 8 years. Our proposed project has 3 Specific Aims: (I) To determine whether weight loss in overweight and obese individuals without OA (but risk factors for OA) as well as with OA protects against the development and progression of cartilage biochemical and morphological joint degeneration, and improves clinical symptoms over 8 years. (II) To determine which methods for weight loss (changes in diet, increased physical activity, surgery) are associated with slower progression of structural and biochemical joint degeneration as well as alleviation of clinical symptoms. (III) To identify baseline characteristics of patients whose weight loss is associated with slower progression of degenerative disease. The proposed project will, for the first time, assess whether weight loss in overweight and obese individuals may prevent the onset of OA and whether it may halt the progression of disease. By studying 640 subjects stratified by varied magnitudes of weight loss and varied levels of joint morphology, this proposal would comprehensively assess changes in joint morphology, cartilage biochemistry, and clinical symptoms in response to weight loss over 8 years. From this study, we expect to establish subject-specific guidelines for weight loss therapy in response to OA that are contingent upon the degree of pre-existing degenerative disease and initial weight. Prevention is currently the key intervention in OA and we strongly believe that our study will greatly contribute to streamlining and optimizing clinical practice of OA prevention

Public Health Relevance

Obesity and osteoarthritis are major public health concerns, which are closely intertwined; while weight loss alleviates biomechanical stresses on the joint, its precise impact on cartilage biochemistry and the knee joint structure has yet to be determined. In order to provide subject-specific recommendations for weight loss as a preventative treatment, it is critical to gain information on (i) the amount of weight loss require, (ii) the degree of pre-existing degenerative disease, (iii) the baseline body habitus, and (iv) the interplay between weight changes and associated factors such as physical activity. Using the unique Osteoarthritis Initiative Cohort will allow us to address all of these concerns for the firs time by comprehensively assessing knee biochemistry and structure over a period of 8 years and determining the impact of weight loss on the onset and progression of osteoarthritis.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AR064771-03
Application #
9114076
Study Section
Neurological, Aging and Musculoskeletal Epidemiology (NAME)
Program Officer
Lester, Gayle E
Project Start
2014-08-01
Project End
2019-07-31
Budget Start
2016-08-01
Budget End
2017-07-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
$316,354
Indirect Cost
$59,207
Name
University of California San Francisco
Department
Radiation-Diagnostic/Oncology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
094878337
City
San Francisco
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94118
Joseph, G B; Nevitt, M C; McCulloch, C E et al. (2018) Associations between molecular biomarkers and MR-based cartilage composition and knee joint morphology: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 26:1070-1077
Hofmann, Felix C; Neumann, Jan; Heilmeier, Ursula et al. (2018) Conservatively treated knee injury is associated with knee cartilage matrix degeneration measured with MRI-based T2 relaxation times: data from the osteoarthritis initiative. Skeletal Radiol 47:93-106
Neumann, Jan; Zhang, Alan L; Schwaiger, Benedikt J et al. (2018) Validation of scoring hip osteoarthritis with MRI (SHOMRI) scores using hip arthroscopy as a standard of reference. Eur Radiol :
Schwaiger, Benedikt J; Mbapte Wamba, John; Gersing, Alexandra S et al. (2018) Hyperintense signal alteration in the suprapatellar fat pad on MRI is associated with degeneration of the patellofemoral joint over 48 months: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative. Skeletal Radiol 47:329-339
Neumann, J; Hofmann, F C; Heilmeier, U et al. (2018) Type 2 diabetes patients have accelerated cartilage matrix degeneration compared to diabetes free controls: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 26:751-761
Chanchek, Nattagan; Gersing, Alexandra S; Schwaiger, Benedikt J et al. (2018) Association of diabetes mellitus and biochemical knee cartilage composition assessed by T2 relaxation time measurements: Data from the osteoarthritis initiative. J Magn Reson Imaging 47:380-390
Neumann, Jan; Guimaraes, Julio B; Heilmeier, Ursula et al. (2018) Diabetics show accelerated progression of knee cartilage and meniscal lesions: data from the osteoarthritis initiative. Skeletal Radiol :
Link, Thomas M (2018) Editorial comment: the future of compositional MRI for cartilage. Eur Radiol 28:2872-2873
Joseph, Gabby B; McCulloch, Charles E; Nevitt, Michael C et al. (2018) Tool for osteoarthritis risk prediction (TOARP) over 8 years using baseline clinical data, X-ray, and MRI: Data from the osteoarthritis initiative. J Magn Reson Imaging 47:1517-1526
Link, Thomas M; Neumann, Jan; Li, Xiaojuan (2017) Prestructural cartilage assessment using MRI. J Magn Reson Imaging 45:949-965

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