Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is a form of osteoarthritis induced by a previous discrete joint injury, such as anterior cruciate ligament tear or acute meniscal tear. PTOA is estimated to affect over 4 million Americans and 29 million people worldwide. PTOA has important public health consequences as it typically occurs a decade or more earlier than non-traumatic OA. Persons with PTOA face lifestyle, economic, and productivity burdens, compelling researchers to investigate its prevention and potential treatment strategies.

In pursuit of rigorous, well-designed research that advances our understanding of PTOA, the Arthritis Foundation launched the OA Clinical Trials Network (OACTN) and appointed OrACORe’s Brigham Coordinating Center (BriCC) to provide leadership with the design, conduct, and analysis of clinical trials in persons at risk for PTOA. BriCC’s responsibility as an integrated part of the OACTN is to (1) design rigorous clinical and translational studies, (2) develop, implement, and oversee data management systems for OACTN studies; (3) monitor OACTN studies, including recruitment and retention as well as compliance with regulatory and data management protocols, and (4) provide statistical expertise for all studies sanctioned as part of the OACTN.

This five-year award began in January 2022. BriCC is hard at work planning the first OACTN clinical trial, a nine-center RCT to investigate the efficacy of metformin at preventing or delaying the onset of PTOA after ACL tear and reconstruction.