Arthritis Society recognizes UCalgary among Top 10 research advances of 2024

Researchers across Canada are transforming how arthritis is diagnosed, treated and prevented. Arthritis Society Canada — the country’s leading charity supporting arthritis research — has unveiled its Top 10 arthritis research breakthroughs funded by the society in 2024. 

Three projects connected to UCalgary are on the list. The researchers recognized include three faculty members, one PhD candidate, and one UCalgary alumni.

Arthritis Society Canada invested $6.6 million in cutting-edge research in 2023–2024. The investments deepen our understanding of arthritis, make strides towards groundbreaking therapies, and bring us closer to a future free from the disease. “Every discovery brings new hope for the six million people in Canada living with arthritis,” said Dr. Siân Bevan, PhD, chief science officer at Arthritis Society Canada. 

Osteoarthritis in males and females

One of the projects at UCalgary focused on the varied impact of diet on joint health. “Osteoarthritis manifests differently in males and females. No one has systematically explored why this difference exists,” explained Dr. Walter Herzog, PhD, professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology. 

“Females have been left out of the research, which is what made this study so valuable, to compare the female and male outcomes,” Herzog adds. 

Supervised by Herzog, the investigation into joint health was led by Nada Abu Ghazaleh, PhD student in Schulich School of Engineering’s Department of Biomedical Engineering. 

Historically, researchers believed obesity caused load on joints such as knees and hips which in turn led to osteoarthritis (OA) developing much quicker and with more frequency, Abu Ghazaleh explains. 

Only in recent years have researchers discovered that when rats are fed a diet high in fat and sucrose, it quickly leads to obesity and metabolic syndrome, and low levels of systemic inflammation in the knee and hip leading to OA. 

Did not get anticipated results

With these results, UCalgary researchers anticipated with this same high-fat/high-sucrose diet, joints such as the shoulder would also have low levels of systemic inflammation. 

“If this is systemic disease, then it should affect all the joints, but we did not get the results as anticipated. The shoulder joints in both male and female rats appeared to be protected,” says Abu Ghazaleh. 

As part of the study, she gave one group of rats a prebiotic fibre that has been demonstrated in previous studies to be of benefit to obesity and metabolic syndrome. She also tested the diet on both male and female rats. 

“I thought the female subjects may respond more to the prebiotic fibre in their diet, but it was the opposite — the male rats responded more. The fibre reduced the lipid profile and mass body weight for the males, but not the females, and the inflammation in the systems of the females seems to be more moderate,” says Abu Ghazaleh. 

Abu Ghazaleh noted that most studies focus on males who typically have a stable hormone profile to ensure the results are more standardized.  Next, she plans to conduct longer term OA studies on both male and female rats. Read the publication. 

Other UCalgary research listed in the Top 10 ranking: 

Joint damage after a sprained ankle

• Researcher:  Dr. Sarah Manske, PhD, Cumming School of Medicine. Read the publication.  
• The finding: Sport-related ankle sprains are common in teens and young adults and are known to increase the risk of future osteoarthritis (OA). New research using medical imaging of soft tissues and ankle bones in youth with a history of ankle sprains showed that osteoarthritis-like joint changes can start as soon as three to 15 years after the injuries, meaning individuals in their thirties could experience such changes following injuries sustained in their twenties.
• The future: Understanding how soon OA can begin in young people following an ankle injury highlights the urgency of prioritizing rehabilitation and prevention efforts and the need for further research on how to intervene to avoid the pain of future arthritis.

Dr. Manske would also like to acknowledge Drs. Kirsten Bott, PhD, Michael Kucyznski, PhD, and Carolyn Emery, PhD, PT. 

Using AI to speed up osteoarthritis diagnosis and monitoring

• Researchers Drs. Nathan Neeteson, PhD’24, and Steven Boyd, PhD, Cumming School of Medicine. Read the publication. 
• The finding: Traumatic bone marrow lesions (BMLs) are frequently observed in knee MRI scans after a tear and may act as a precursor for post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Researchers developed an AI-powered tool to automate the detection and segmentation of BMLs in MRI scans, greatly reducing the time and effort required in manual assessments by clinicians and researchers.
• The future: This approach holds promise for clinical application, offering a reliable, quantitative tool to detect and study bone-related pathology. This approach could allow for faster diagnosis and monitoring of knee injuries and the possible progression of osteoarthritis, making it a potentially useful asset in both diagnostics and early intervention.

Dr. Boyd would also like to acknowledge Callie Stirling and Dr. Richard Walker, MD, FRCPC.