Osteoarthritis of the Knee Statin (OAKS) Study

The OAKS study is a multicentre randomised controlled trial examining a new treatment for knee osteoarthritis. It is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC ID 1048581).

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a major public health problem, with no treatments that affect disease progression. Both metabolic factors and inflammation play a role in the pathogenesis of OA and are associated with disease progression. Statins, a drug class used to lower cholesterol levels, may affect the progression of OA via their effects on lipid metabolism and inflammation. We will perform a randomised controlled trial to determine whether statins have a disease modifying effect in OA by examining their effect on structural progression measured by reduction in the rate of knee cartilage loss. If statins are effective, they will offer a novel therapeutic approach to reducing the progression of knee OA.

The aim of this study is to determine whether 40 mg of atorvastatin once daily reduces the rate of knee cartilage volume loss over 2 years compared with placebo in people with symptomatic knee OA.  Annual change in knee cartilage volume will be assessed from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed at baseline and 2 years later.

This project is a participant based study but recruitment is now complete.
More information is available on this Information Sheet (132.5KB).

Research Groups

Related Diseases

Staff

Team Leaders

Team Members

External Collaborators

  • Professor Flavia Cicuttini - Monash University
  • Dr Andrew Tonkin - Monash University
  • Associate Professor Anita Wluka - Monash University
  • Associate Professor Catherine Hill - Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide
  • Dr Yuanyuan Wang - Monash University

Related Funding Bodies