Osteoarthritis Model Now Available in Rats Through Both Research Models and Preclinical Services
June 25, 2009 – Charles River is pleased to announce that we have increased our scientific resources with a rat model for osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis. Also called degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis causes pain, swelling and reduced motion in any joint, but usually affects the hands, knees, hips or spine.
The osteoarthritis model is available within our preclinical network of contract laboratories for in-life studies. Additionally, we can prepare this model and ship to you for your internal use through our Research Models group. The model is created through the injection of the metabolic inhibitor monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) into the knee joint of rats. MIA inhibits the activity of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in chondrocytes, resulting in disruption of glycolysis and eventually in cell death.
The progressive loss of chondrocytes results in histological and morphological changes of the articular cartilage, closely resembling those seen in osteoarthritis patients. The MIA model is considered to be one of the best-characterized rat models for analyzing properties of drugs on the pathology of osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis affects nearly 27 million people in the United States alone, and it accounts for 25% of visits to primary care physicians and half of all NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) prescriptions.
It is estimated that 80% of the population will have radiographic evidence of the disease by age 65, although only 60% of those will be symptomatic. Osteoarthritis gradually worsens with time, and currently, no cure exists.
Additional rodent and nonrodent osteoporosis, arthritis and other skeletal disease models are available within Charles River. We offer a full range of services for bone/skeletal research that combine established discovery, preclinical and clinical expertise with a host of novel bone research technologies to provide highly specialized evaluations of bone disease and bone quality.
For more information about our new osteoarthritis model or any of our surgical services, please contact us at 1.877.CRIVER.1 (1.877.274.8371) or askcharlesriver@crl.com or click here.
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