Selection of Conferences at EULAR 2025

Dr. Aileen Ledingham opened the session by highlighting the growing global impact of osteoarthritis (OA), projected to affect one billion people by 2050¹. Building on this, Professor Dr. Nina Østerås addressed the persistent gap between guidelines and practice—despite effective programs like BOA, AktivA, and ESCAPE, fewer than half of patients receive core, evidence-based care². Echoing these concerns, Valentina Schmolik presented BLOAR registry data revealing reduced work capacity and high use of non-recommended therapies⁴. Concluding the discussion, Professor Dr. Ali Mobasheri emphasized the promise of biomarkers and phenotype-driven approaches for early detection and personalized OA management, calling for stronger collaboration and innovation to advance the field⁵.

Bibliography

1. Ledingham A. How to prevent the development and progression and decrease the burden in daily life. In: Navigating the field of osteoarthritis: American and European interprofessional approaches. EULAR 2025 – European Congress of Rheumatology; 2025 Jun 11–14; Barcelona, Spain.
2. Østerås N. The right care at the right time. In: Navigating the field of osteoarthritis: American and European interprofessional approaches. EULAR 2025 – European Congress of Rheumatology; 2025 Jun 11–14; Barcelona, Spain.
3. Cunningham J, Doyle F, Ryan JM, Clyne B, Cadogan C, Cottrell E, Murphy P, Smith SM, French HP. Primary care-based models of care for osteoarthritis: a scoping review. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2023 Aug;61:152221
4. Schmolik V, et al. OP0236-HPR Health services usage in the Austrian osteoarthritis registry show a high level of non-evidence-based therapies. Ann Rheum Dis. 2025;84(Suppl 1):196-197.
5. Mobasheri A. New paths and potential game changers for the future osteoarthritis management and treatment. In: Navigating the field of osteoarthritis: American and European interprofessional approaches. EULAR 2025 – European Congress of Rheumatology; 2025 Jun 11–14; Barcelona, Spain.

Dr. Zsuzsa Jenei-Lanzi discussed how osteoarthritis (OA) involves not only joint degeneration but also systemic processes like low-grade inflammation and autonomic nervous system (ANS) imbalance. In the Frankfurt cohort, late-stage OA patients showed elevated cortisol, reduced heart rate variability, and higher stress levels, all linked to disease severity. Supporting murine studies confirmed that stress amplifies inflammation. Dr. Jenei-Lanzi highlighted vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) as a promising non-pharmacological strategy to restore autonomic balance, reduce inflammation, and break the vicious cycle of pain and stress in OA.¹

Bibliography

1. Jenei-Lanzi Z. Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation may alleviate pain in OA. In: New Potential Targets for Pain in Osteoarthritis. European Congress of Rheumatology: EULAR 2025; 2025 Jun 11-14, Barcelona, Spain.
2. Sohn R, Assar T, Kaufhold I, Brenneis M, Braun S, Junker M, Zaucke F, Pongratz G, Jenei-Lanzl Z. Osteoarthritis patients exhibit an autonomic dysfunction with indirect sympathetic dominance. J Transl Med. 2024 May 16;22(1):467
3. Yeater TD, Zubcevic J, Allen KD. Measures of cardiovascular function suggest autonomic nervous system dysregulation after surgical induction of joint injury in the male Lewis rat. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2022 Apr;30(4):586-595

Professor Dr. Fiona Watt examined the persistent challenge of pain management in osteoarthritis (OA), noting that pain remains an unmet therapeutic need despite decades of pharmacological innovation. She focused on nociceptors and ion channels as emerging therapeutic targets, including TRK A, TRPV1, and NAV 1.7/1.8. Although clinical trials blocking TRK A have yielded inconclusive outcomes, attention is shifting toward TRPV1 and NAV 1.8, where early data suggest potential to modulate OA pain through more localized or selective mechanisms. Dr. Watt emphasized that advancing OA pain therapy requires a fine balance between efficacy and safety—an equilibrium that continues to steer research toward new, more precise pathways for pain relief.¹

Bibliography

1. Watt F. Recognize novel nociceptor therapeutic targets for osteoarthritis pain. In: New Potential Targets for Pain in Osteoarthritis. European Congress of Rheumatology: EULAR 2025; 2025 Jun 11-14, Barcelona, Spain

EULAR’s updated recommendations for physical activity (PA) in inflammatory arthritis (IA) and osteoarthritis (OA) emphasise regular physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviours to improve health-related quality of life. EULAR guidelines integrate WHO 2020 physical activity recommendations² and focus on personalised care, including tailored exercise programs and digital tools like wearable trackers. Key principles stress shared decision-making, addressing barriers to physical activity, and using standardised methods for evaluating interventions. These updates aim to enhance patient outcomes and ensure PA is a central part of IA and OA care.¹

Bibliography

1. Niedermann K. Update of the 2018 EULAR recommendations for physical activity in people with inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis. European Congress of Rheumatology: EULAR 2025; 2025 Jun 11-14, Barcelona, Spain.
2. World Health Organization. WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020.