251 Synovial fluid metabolite profiles differ between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Background: Non-inflammatory osteoarthritis (OA) and inflammatory rheumatoid arthritis (RA) lead to significant disability and reduction in quality of life. Despite both these chronic conditions being typically age-related with insidious onset, their underlying aetiologies are markedly different. Synovial fluid (SF) is located within the articular joint cavity, in close contact and near proximity to numerous tissues found to be primarily altered during OA and RA. Thus this bio-fluid holds huge potential in the early diagnosis of these conditions through the identification of metabolite markers. Previous analyses have been inhibited by the low volumes of SF aspirated from human joints. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) allows analysis of small volumes of SF with minimal sample preparation using non-invasive and non-destructive methods.