Levels of C-reactive protein, creatine kinase-muscle and aldolase A are suitable biomarkers to detect the risk factors for osteoarthritic disorders: A novel diagnostic protocol.

backgroundC-reactive protein (CRP), creatine kinase-muscle (CK-MM) and aldolase A (AldoA) levels are predicted to be realistic biomarkers of osteoarthritic disorders (OADs). The objective of the study was to evaluate the levels of CRP, CK-MM, and AldoA and determine their correlations with risk factors such as inflammation, muscle degeneration, and skeletal muscle damage for OADs.

methodsBaseline data from 297 patients, average aged 60.17±7.19 years, suffering with OADs for 5.75±1.32 years and 315 participants, average aged 58.96±8.63 years, without OADs were collected in this cross-sectional study. Separate analyses were performed for the participants with and without OAD symptoms confirming with X-ray or MRI. Blood CRP, CK-MM, and AldoA levels were estimated. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, their respective 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and significance values were compared between participants with and without OADs to identify the risk factors for OADs in relation to biomarkers.

resultsIn patients with OADs, who exhibited degenerative changes on musculoskeletal joints and risk factors based on the elevated levels of CRP, CK-MM, and AldoA having their mean±SD values, 7.22±6.09 mg/L,135.2±78.56 U/L and 8.09±2.15 U/L, respectively. Their respective values of areas under the curves (AUC) of ROC curves were 0.76, 0.68 and 0.91 respectively, of which all exhibited highly significant differences (p<0.0001) compared with the control subjects.

conclusionIt is concluded from the results that the elevated levels of studied biomarkers represent the predictive above-mentioned risk factors during OADs; therefore, monitoring CRP, CK-MM and AldoA levels may be an effective diagnostic method confirming with radiological imaging.