NIH & NIA Renew Grant for Osteoarthritis Study

David T. Felson, MD, MPH, professor of medicine and epidemiology and Director of Clinical Epidemiology, recently was awarded a five-year, $6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA), to investigate new strategies for preventing osteoarthritis.

Knee osteoarthritis, which causes chronic knee pain, is the most common cause of disability in elders. Unfortunately, little is available to prevent this disease, and therapies that are currently available for treatment carry their own potential risks, such as increased risk of bleeding with Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs). Surgical interventions, such as knee replacements, are not without their potential complications during and after surgery as well.

The grant renews the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study (MOST), led by Felson, and will focus on studying new prevention opportunities and also on novel ways to understand and ultimately limit the impact of knee arthritis on the daily lives of those affected.

Felson, who is also a rheumatologist at BMC, has authored more than 400 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and is associate editor of the Journal of Rheumatology and Arthritis and Rheumatology.

Submitted by Ray Qian, MD.