This video is from the WebMD
Video Archive
You are in the WebMD Content Archive for WebMD Video.
WebMD archives all video content after 48 months to ensure our readers can easily find the most timely content.
To locate the most current information on this topic, please use our search box
Close
Identifying Early Knee Osteoarthritis
Reviewed By:
Louise Chang,
SOURCES: Medical Reference from Medstar Television. www.medstar.com For information on the Osteoarthritis Initiative: http://www.niams.nih.gov/ne/oi, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, http://orthoinfo.aaos.org Arthritis Foundation, http://www.arthritis.org, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disease, http://www.niams.nih.gov
© 1999-2011 Medstar Television
Narrator:
Painful knees forced Ruth Young to move from a two-story to a single-story house.
Ruth Young, PhD, Arthritis Patient:
Going down stairs right now is a major problem. I go down sideways and one step at a time.
Narrator:
The 81-year-old former college dean has lived with osteoarthritis for fifty years. She says medications ease the pain, but nothing really gets rid of the disease.
Ruth Young, PhD, Arthritis Patient:
I don't think they still have a very good handle on treating it.
Narrator:
Now researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine want to change that. Doctor Marc Hochberg (HOK-berg) is heading the largest study ever on osteoarthritis of the knee.
Marc Hochberb, MD, Rheumatologist, University of Maryland:
What we hope to do is, number one, to validate or confirm that magnetic resonance imaging is the ideal method for early diagnosis.
Narrator:
Co-Investigator Charles Resnik (REZ-nik) says the M-R-I being used in this study is twice as powerful as standard imaging techniques.
Charles Resnik, MD, Radiologist, University of Maryland:
The theory is that the stronger the magnetic field, the more fine detail that you can get in the imaging that you're doing.
Narrator:
Researchers also want to see if blood or urine tests can identify at-risk patients early on.
Marc Hochberb, MD, Rheumatologist, University of Maryland:
This will help the development of drugs, which will modify the development or progression of osteoarthritis.
Narrator:
And possibly prevent the disease in the first place. If you're knees are already sore?
Ruth Young, PhD, Arthritis Patient:
I think you have to keep moving, keep the sense of humor and try to cooperate with the illness as much as you can.
Narrator:
Wisdom from one who's learned to cope with the pain and limitations of the disease.
Ruth Young, PhD, Arthritis Patient:
Okay?
Narrator:
For WebMD, I'm Sandee LaMotte.
