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Osteoarthritis

Is OA a mechanical or systemic disease?

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a heterogeneous group of diseases with different pathogenesis in different joints. What effect do metabolic factors, inflammation and obesity have on OA in non-loadbearing structures? A new study reports that, in the absence of knee OA, systemic processes are important in the pathogenesis of hand OA.

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Figure 1: The spectrum of knee OA.

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Acknowledgements

A.E.W. is supported by an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship, Clinical level 2 (1063574).

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Correspondence to Flavia M. Cicuttini.

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Cicuttini, F., Wluka, A. Is OA a mechanical or systemic disease?. Nat Rev Rheumatol 10, 515–516 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2014.114

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