Genetic testing could be used to identify patients facing the risk of developing severe osteoarthritis of the knee or hip, a European conference heard yesterday.
The testing would identify microRNAs, small bundles of nucleotides, first identified 20 years ago.
The findings were unveiled at the conference of the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress in Paris, France.
German researchers say they have found a correlation between microRNAs in the blood and the development of severe osteoarthritis.
The study involved some 816 patients over 15 years and led to the finding of three possible microRNAs, known as let-7e, miR-454 and miR-885-5p.
Researcher Dr Christian Beyer, from University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, said: "These results indicate that for the first time we will be able to predict the risk of severe osteoarthritis, before the disease starts to significantly impact a person’s life, allowing us to take preventative action early on.
"Through the early identification of osteoarthritis we can decrease both the impact of the disease on individuals and the major socio-economic burden severe disease poses."
* A second study at the conference suggests that injections may make a difference to the care of "tennis elbow" – but they do not require drugs.
Researchers tested the benefits of plasma injections containing growth factors.
But they report they proved no better at relieving pain than injections of a saline substance.
The condition, known formally as epicondylitis, is caused by overworking of the elbow tendons.
Researcher Patrick Le Goux, of the Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris Ile-de-France Ouest, France, said injections of both kinds had helped relieve pain.
He said: "The healing process is stimulated by the echo-guided injection of a substance and/or by the own effect of the needle (needling); the injections stimulate the process of tendon repair through an irritation effect, a technique known as prolotherapy."
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