Hospital for Special Surgery Hosts Osteoarthritis Summit

About.com—March 12, 2012

We asked the question some time ago. Does it seem that rheumatoid arthritis gets all the attention and that osteoarthritis gets no respect? Here's what you had to say about that, but would it surprise you to know experts agree that more needs to be done about osteoarthritis? It's true, they agree.

Recently, 35 experts in the field -- including scientists, researchers, doctors, physical therapists, government officials, and representatives from the pharmaceutical, device, and insurance industries -- gathered for the Osteoarthritis Summit: Frontiers in OA, hosted by Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. The focus of the summit was what to do about osteoarthritis, in terms of diagnosing, treating, and preventing the disease. Experts recognize that even though osteoarthritis is becoming increasingly prevalent as our population ages, some pharmaceutical companies have pulled away from osteoarthritis research and drug development, in part because of the complexity of the disease.

Experts decided that the current classification system for osteoarthritis needs revision. A classification tree was proposed that would identify the disease as either spontaneous or induced, and then further classify the disease based on abnormalities and progression. They also discussed diagnostic tools and monitoring treatment response. Check out more of what was discussed by going to the special HSS journal issue HSS Osteoarthritis Symposium: Frontiers in OA.

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