Method to identify responders to osteoarthritis therapeutics

A method for selecting a patient with an abnormal knee joint for treatment with a peptide consisting of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:

• 10, comprising:
• (a) measuring three-dimensional (3D) shape of subchondral bones selected from the group consisting of a femur, a patella, and both a femur and a patella to obtain a set of measurements, in the patient;
• (b) comparing the set of measurements in (a) to standard measurements of corresponding normal subchondral bone shapes, thereby obtaining a B-score differential of the femur, patella, or both the femur and the patella;
• and
• (c) selecting a patient having a femur baseline B-score ≥1, a patella baseline B-score ≥0, or a femur baseline B-score ≥1 and a patella baseline B-score ≥0;
• (d) treating the selected patient with the peptide consisting of the amino acid sequence of TDLQERGDNDISPFSGDGOPFKD (SEQ ID NO:
• 10) at a dose of 50-400 mg ±20%;
• thereby providing to the patient in need thereof a therapeutic benefit selected from the group consisting of delaying, arresting, or reversing the pathological 3D shape change of the subchondral bone and a therapeutic improvement selected from the group consisting of improvement in function, pain, and stiffness of the abnormal knee joint,
• wherein:
• the joint is abnormal due to arthritis or traumatic injury.