Researchers reveal predictive biomarkers for hip disorder

Washington [US], June 13 : In order to distinguish between people with healthy hips and those who have hip dysplasia, also known as hip dysplasia, which frequently develops into hip osteoarthritis if not diagnosed before early adulthood, researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have created panels of protein biomarkers that are present in teens and young adults. These proteins can be used to diagnose hip dysplasia.

The researchers examined age-matched people with healthy hips and patients with hip dysplasia for the presence of certain protein combinations that were consistently different between them. They also evaluated routine blood and urine samples for the presence of targeted protein indicators. The clinical use of these assays could allow for an early and precise identification of this frequent hip condition. This would represent a significant advancement over existing diagnostic techniques and enable the deployment of the best preventative and therapeutic measures, which would help some patients avoid hip replacement surgery in the future.

"The results from this study suggest that these biomarker panels could be further developed into routine lab tests that help physicians accurately identify patients with hip dysplasia so that nonsurgical and surgical joint preservation treatments can be implemented when they are most effective," said senior author James Cook, DVM, PhD, William & Kathryn Allen Distinguished Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery and director of the Thompson Laboratory for Regenerative Orthopaedics. "Further optimization of these biomarker panels could result in highly effective tools that significantly decrease the number of patients who suffer from debilitating hip osteoarthritis as they age."

The researchers collected blood and urine samples from 13-to-34-year-old patients with physician confirmed developmental dysplasia of the hip along with a control group of 13-to 34-year-old volunteers with healthy hips. Panels including serum and urine biomarkers differentiated the two groups with high degrees of sensitivity and specificity.

The biomarker differences between the two groups suggest that hips with developmental dysplasia before the onset of osteoarthritis of the hip are mechanistically distinct from healthy hips in terms of inflammatory and joint remodeling processes that typically lead to osteoarthritis if left untreated.

Osteoarthritis is the primary reason that patients opt for total hip replacement surgery.

"The potential to screen young individuals at-risk for hip problems could aid nonsurgical treatment interventions earlier in life rather than developing arthritis," said Brett Crist, MD, professor of Orthopaedic Surgery. "Based upon the ease of sample collection, this panel could be readily incorporated into clinical practice as a screening tool for future risk of hip problems."