OA Consensus Conference

Participants

Canadian Arthritis Network (CAN) researchers, leading international scientists, trainees, consumers, health professionals and representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, government and non-governmental organizations.

Purpose:

• To identify research questions and priorities through stakeholder consultation.

Research Priorities and Questions

OA Consensus Conference represented the first time that consumers actively involved in identifying research priorities. They participation facilitated the first nation-wide consumer survey, Determining the research priorities of people living with arthritis – listening to patients. Over 300 consumers responded validating six research questions and highlighting an unexpected addition – fatigue. The final six questions were:

1. What are the risk factors/causes of OA and how effective are OA treatments?


2. What are the best models, markers and tools for evaluation and detection of OA and what are the most effective models of OA care
?

3. What are the causes and treatment of pain and fatigue in OA, and what are the relationships to outcomes of OA treatment?


4. What are the best prevention strategies for OA?


5. What are new targets for OA treatment?


6. What are the best methods of KT and how effective are they?

Co-sponsors

• Canadian Arthritis Network (CAN)
• Canadian Institute of Health Research’s Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA)

Research Funding

The OA Conference highlighted the need to support OA focused research in unprecedented ways. The Canadian Arthritis Network (CAN) has embraced the opportunity and added osteoarthritis as a Strategic Research Initiative. This enables collaboration of expertise toward new discoveries and the application of new knowledge with partners more efficiently and effectively.

In partnership with the Canadian Institute for Health Research’s (CIHR) Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA) $4.4 million was awarded over five years for three osteoarthritis (OA) research projects:

• The Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia, Dr. John Esdaile
  $1.5 million to develop tools to detect OA at an earlier stage than it is currently diagnosed
• Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Dr. Gillian Hawker
  $1.4 million to examine the determinants and consequences of pain and fatigue in OA using a biopsychosocial approach.
• University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Dr. James Henry
  $1.5 million to look at the molecular mechanisms of pain and fatigue in OA in the nervous system and joints.

For more information about these research projects, please click here.

The OA Consensus Conference also created participant interest in further collaborations and research discussion resulting in:

North American OA Research Consortium

Through CAN’s SRI on Osteoarthritis, the North American OA Research Consortium was established to facilitate collaboration among partners beyond the Canadian research community. Members of the Consortium include: Health Canada, the US Food and Drug Administration, all ACAP partner organizations, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the National Institutes of Health and the Arthritis Foundation in the U.S.

Consensus Conference on Preclinical Models of OA

Research inquiries arising from the 2002 OA Conference created interest in determining which research model and technology would be the best indicator of clinical outcomes in human trials. The Canadian Arthritis Network will host the first international Consensus Conference on Preclinical Models of OA in May 2006. For more information about this initiative, please click here.