Osteoarthritis: Novel Advances in the Understanding and Therapeutic Management of the Disease

Dear Colleagues,

More than 500 million people worldwide (7% of the global population) are affected by Osteoarthritis (OA), the most common joint disorder. OA is a leading cause of chronic disability in older individuals, leading to a large socioeconomical burden. As aging, obesity and poor lifestyle increase in the world population, the burden of OA could be even bigger than expected.

OA is an evolving and progressive disease that alters all joint structures. The action of relevant etiopathogenic mechanisms modulated by extra-articular risk factors leads to different clinical manifestations that depend on the most damaged joint tissue at a given time. Molecular endotypes and clinical phenotypes were proposed in early OA. Years later, the OA process has reached advanced stages as a more uniform disease that significantly affects the quality of life.

The complexity of the etiopathogenesis and subsequent diverse clinical manifestations have impeded the development of well-designed therapeutic interventions in OA. Nevertheless, significant research effort has been devoted to improving our understanding of the natural history of OA and to the design of therapeutic strategies aimed at main pathophysiological mechanisms achieving relevant progress in the last few years.

In this sense, this Special Issue aims at presenting studies in basic, translational, clinical, and epidemiological research committed to further contributing to the advancement of the OA field.

Dr. Jorge A. Roman-Blas
Prof. Dr. Gabriel Herrero-Beaumont
Dr. Raquel Largo
Guest Editors

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