Deveza LA, et al. - A sum of 204 candidates were studied to analyze the hand strength and function between subjects with isolated thumb base osteoarthritis (OA) vs those with co-existent interphalangeal (IP) joint pain and erosive OA. They noted significantly worse hand function in individuals with concomitant IP joint pain (17%) and erosive OA (21%) when compared to subjects with isolated thumb base OA (62%). They observed an independent relationship between co-existence of erosive OA and lower grip and tip-pinch strength. They suggested that stratification of cases based on such characteristics might improve the design of future thumb base OA trials.