Research Highlight of the Year: Vote for Your Favourite Discovery!
09 December 2024
Voting for Research Highlight of the Year has now ended. Watch this space in the New Year for details of the winner and further information about their study.
This year, we’re thrilled to share that over 400 research publications have come from our incredible researchers, each one advancing the field of arthritis research. As we approach the end of 2024, we’re taking a moment to look back at these achievements and celebrate some standout contributions that truly inspired us.
Handing the decision over to you
To highlight these milestones even further, we’ve created a shortlist of what we think are 10 of the most inspiring, exciting, and impactful research publications of the year.
And now, we’re passing the final decision to you—the supporters who make this work possible.
It’s your turn to choose which project should be awarded Versus Arthritis’ Research Highlight of the Year!
Go to our social media channels to comment the number of the project you think deserves to win, and we’ll announce the winner before the 20th of December!
Our shortlisted highlights
1. New Hand Osteoarthritis Classification Criterion
Researchers from the Primary Care Centre Versus Arthritis have been a part of developing a new classification criterion for Hand Osteoarthritis. Based on self-reported symptoms and X-ray findings this will allow for more accurate classification without requiring a joint exam. These new criteria will help include more diverse patient groups in research, leading to more targeted treatments and improved outcomes for people with arthritis.
"This paper describes for the first time a way of classifying osteoarthritis into hand joint groups. Now we can reliably classify hand osteoarthritis according to joint groups, research to determine effective treatments can be better targeted to alleviate the detrimental impact of hand OA."
2. Mavidos Trial Follow-up
Earlier this year, researchers from the MAVIDOS trial found that supplementation of vitamin D during pregnancy led to greater bone mineral density of children up to 6-7 years old. This strengthens the evidence that vitamin D supplementation is an important strategy for improving bone health across the population.
"Our work has shown that taking additional vitamin D in pregnancy is an important and cheap strategy to improve bone health. It strengthens children’s bones and reduces the risk of conditions like osteoporosis (thinning of the bones) and broken bones in later life. Nearly 1000 women and their children took part in the MAVIDOS study, Their contributions have helped to advance our scientific understanding of how vitamin D in early life supports strong and healthy bones."
3. Opioid use in Musculoskeletal Patients
Researchers from the Centre for Epidemiology Versus Arthritis have shown that over three quarters of new opioid prescriptions for non-cancer pain were in patients with musculoskeletal conditions. Following evaluation of more than 2 million patient records, this first of its kind study in the UK revealed that prescriptions were often for musculoskeletal conditions that have limited evidence for opioid efficacy such as osteoarthritis & low back pain amongst others. These findings can be used to inform health care providers and policy makers the areas that need more resources to improve pain management, the need for targeted strategies and better access to lifestyle/ non-drug treatment options.
“We designed this study to help prioritise and develop targeted solutions for people who need them the most. As well as MSK conditions being the most common, we observed overlaps between other pain conditions highlighting the complexity of managing pain. We hope these results support the need for newer pain management strategies, and allows better-informed shared decisions between the prescriber and patient for the most common conditions reported, especially where opioid harms may outweigh the benefits.”
4. The LIFT study
Researchers from the LIFT study this year have identified connections in the brain that might explain how physical activity and talking therapies could help fatigue. Using MRI the researchers found that when fatigue was reduced through physical activity and talking therapies, some pathways of the brain are more active. We hope these findings will move us closer to a treatment for fatigue.
"Our study provides an important stride towards understanding the mechanisms of arthritis related fatigue. Moreover, it demonstrates that modern technologies and analytical methods are finally able to tackle the complexity of fatigue in a tractable fashion. In doing so we hope to encourage more researchers to investigate and provide solutions for this patient priority."
5. Using the Microbiome to Predict Response to DMARDs
Researchers at Kings College London have found that specific gut bacteria profiles in newly diagnosed patients could predict their response to DMARDs. They found that certain bacteria (like Prevotella and Streptococcus species) decreased in patients who showed improvement. These findings suggest that assessing a patient’s microbiome could help identify who might benefit most from DMARDs and guide early treatment decisions.
"We are excited to anticipate the day when patients with RA are routinely provided with advice about personalised treatment – this work shows that tailoring drug therapy to the individual based on their microbiome would result in better disease control."
6. New Uveitis Research from the CLUSTER consortium
New research from the CLUSTER consortium may improve our ability to predict which young people with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) are more likely to develop eye inflammation. The researchers found that by combining genetic and clinical information we can more accurately predict who is most likely to on to develop uveitis. In the future this could reduce the need for unnecessary tests for thousands of young people.
"This new discovery has the potential to enable clinicians to screen for genetic changes when a young person is first diagnosed with JIA. This would change how we might treat uveitis, such as giving medicine at an earlier stage. This could mean those who develop uveitis are treated quickly, before the disease can irreversibly damage the eye."
7. The OPPORTUNITY study
The OPPORTUNITY study has tested whether a pre-surgery program of non-surgical care (like exercise, weight loss, and pain management) for knee osteoarthritis patients awaiting knee replacement would be feasible and acceptable. Patients who participated showed high adherence, lost more weight, and reported better quality of life compared to the control group. The results suggest that a larger trial could confirm the benefits of this approach potentially improving outcomes for people waiting for surgery.
"This study showed that even people with advanced arthritis waiting for joint replacement could benefit from the intervention (of exercise, weight loss, insoles and simple pain relief) tailored to the individual. The intervention worked so well in some individuals that they put off their operation. With ever growing waiting lists for surgery, this is a timely intervention. Participants receiving the intervention commented on learning to change their behaviours and being empowered to manage their arthritis."
8. Using Protein Markers to Predict responses to Etanercept
The Centre for Genetics and Genomics Versus Arthritis and Research into Inflammatory Arthritis Centre protein markers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that could predict how well people respond to a specific treatment called etanercept. Researchers analysed blood samples from 180 RA patients before and after three months of treatment, discovering ten proteins linked to treatment outcomes. This suggests these proteins could help identify which patients are more likely to benefit from etanercept, helping people get the right medicine.
"In one of the biggest studies of proteins in the blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to date, we found that 10 proteins were linked to improvement in RA activity after three months of etanercept. Finding proteins that can predict the success of a medicine could allow more streamlined and targeted drug therapy, leading to quicker control of symptoms and better quality of life for people with RA."
9. The VOICES study
The VOICES study has identified key components of effective care for people with vasculitis. This includes timely access to services, integrated care, and expert support. They found that shorter waiting times and nurse-led clinics were linked to better patient outcomes, including fewer serious infections and emergency hospital admissions. The findings suggest that improving healthcare models for rare diseases can enhance patient care by addressing these critical service components and fostering collaboration among healthcare providers.
“The VOICES study has for the first time provided evidence of how best to deliver effective services that will improve the health and experiences of care for people living with vasculitis, a rare condition. Co-produced and supported by people with Vasculitis from the start, our findings are already being used to change the way services are set-up and delivered in practice and are likely to apply more widely to health-care services for people living with other multisystem rare conditions."
10. The PROMOTE study clinical trial
The PROMOTE study clinical trial has shown that methotrexate, a medication already used for autoimmune conditions, to be effective in relieving both the pain and stiffness caused by knee osteoarthritis. These findings offer hope for new approaches to pain management for the millions of people living with osteoarthritis. Future research will help identify who might benefit from this medicine.
"New ways to help relieve the pain that people with osteoarthritis live with on a daily basis are urgently needed. We are therefore very excited by our findings which show that methotrexate may offer a potential new treatment."
Support life-changing research
Research like this is only possible because of supporters like you. By donating, you’re fuelling breakthroughs that bring us closer to making arthritis treatable, preventable, and manageable for millions. Join us in changing lives—your support makes all the difference.
Donate to support life-changing research