Biomedicine

Abstract

Introduction: Knee Osteoarthritis (OA) is diagnosed based on clinical features, functional assessment, and radiographic evaluation. Recently, biochemical markers of bone and cartilage have been studied for early disease detection and monitoring its progression. This study aims to measure one of the biochemical marker, urinary C-terminal telopeptide of type II collagen (uCTX-II), and evaluate how its levels vary between healthy individuals and patients with different radiological severities of knee osteoarthritis. Methodology: After clinical and radiographic examination, 50 patients with primary knee osteoarthritis and 50 controls of age group 40-60 are included in the study. Levels of urinary C terminal telopeptide of type II collagen (uCTX -II) are measured using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The Kellgren-Lawrence grading scale is used for radiological grading. Results: The mean uCTX-II levels (pg/ml) in OA patients (280.02 ± 257.89) are significantly higher than in healthy controls (125 ± 72.2) with p<0.05.When the control group mean is compared with disease severity grades, the mean differences between the control group and Grades 1 and 2 are statistically significant. Conclusion: This study found that uCTX-II levels are significantly high in osteoarthritis (OA) patients compared to healthy individuals. Subgroup analysis revealed that uCTX-II levels are elevated in early-stage knee OA (Grade 1 and Grade 2) compared to advanced stages (Grade 3 and Grade 4). These findings suggest that uCTX-II can be a useful marker for monitoring cartilage turnover in early OA and can help in early diagnosis, particularly when radiographic grading is unclear or subjective.