Goal

To investigate the biological and mechanical pathways to osteoarthritis in people of various shapes and sizes using:

• Gait analysis
• MR imaging
• Analysis of cytokines present in the serum.

Major Findings

• The positive relationship between knee loading and cartilage is lost with age and obesity.
• Loading, particularly the knee adduction moment, increases with age in obese subjects.
• This increase in adduction moment associated with age was not seen in normal-weight individuals.
• Many obese persons (age 40-60) have asymptomatic/undiagnosed knee osteoarthritis.

Representative Publications

• Age and obesity alter the positive knee articular cartilage response to ambulatory loads in individuals without osteoarthritis.
  Blazek K, Favre J, Asay J, Erhart-Hledik J, Andriacchi T. J Orthop Res. 2014 Mar;32(3):394-402.
• Adduction moment increases with age in healthy obese individuals.
  Blazek K, Asay JL, Erhart-Hledik J, Andriacchi T. J Orthop Res. 2013 Sep;31(9):1414-22.

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