Around 10 million people in the UK live with osteoarthritis (OA), yet people experience the condition in different ways that many clinical tests fail to capture.
The SOLVE consortium (Stratification of Osteoarthritis to Promote Living Well and Treatment Effectiveness) aims to identify factors that explain why treatments fail to show effectiveness in clinical trials. This information should help to match treatments to individuals to improve their quality of life. The consortium is being led by the University of Leeds and Keele University, and is enabled by £3 million in funding from Arthritis UK.
Tonia Vincent, Kennedy Trust Maini Feldmann Professor of Translational Musculoskeletal Science, is co-leading the workstream that will use molecular profiling and advanced imaging approaches to understand better the mechanisms driving disease in different patients. She said: ‘We are excited to be part of SOLVE, and to have this opportunity to work with a team of exceptional OA researchers across the UK to tackle this important topic.’
Dr Philippa Nicolson, Senior Research Fellow, is co-leading the workstream on exercise and social determinants of health. Her team will investigate how factors such as income, education and access to services influence people’s ability to engage with and benefit from exercise, which remains a core treatment for OA. The research will support the development of more personalised and inclusive exercise programmes for people living with the condition.