METHOD OF TREATING OSTEOARTHRITIS

1 . A method of impacting shape change of bone underlying articular cartilage in a patient, comprising:

locally injecting into a joint of a patient a therapeutically effective amount of a formulation comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable, injectable carrier, and a pharmaceutically active peptide characterized by impacting shape change of bone underlying articular cartilage in the patient whereby shape change of the bone underlying articular cartilage in the patient is impacted.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the peptide is a peptide selected from the group consisting of a peptide of SEQ ID No.: 1, SEQ ID No.: 2, SEQ ID No.: 3, SEQ ID No.: 4, SEQ ID No.: 5, and SEQ ID No.: 6.

3 . A method of claim 1 , wherein the peptide is a peptide of SEQ ID No. 1.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the patient has been diagnosed with osteoarthritis and thereby reducing osteoarthritis progression in the patient.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining a first image of bone underlying articular cartilage prior to the injecting;

obtaining a second image of bone underlying articular cartilage after the injecting; and

comparing the first image with the second image; and

determining impact of bone shape change from the injecting; and

determining a need for additional injecting based on the comparison.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the peptide is a peptide of SEQ ID NO.:1 administered in an amount in a range of about 50-400 mg±20%.

7 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

repeating the injecting over a period of weeks, wherein the peptide is administered in an amount in a range of 50 to 400 mg±20%.

8 . A method to delaying, arresting, or reversing naturally occurring aging of a joint, comprising:

administering a peptide of SEQ ID No. 1 to the joint, thereby delaying naturally occurring bone area increase and three-dimensional shape change of the bone underlying articular cartilage.

9 . A method, comprising:

(a) measuring bone shape of a joint of a patient;

(b) locally injecting into the joint of the patient a therapeutically effective amount of a formulation comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable, injectable carrier, and a peptide of SEQ ID NO.: 1;

(c) remeasuring the bone shape of the joint and comparing a measurement obtained with a measurement obtained prior to locally injecting in step (b).

10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

repeating steps (a), (b) and (c).

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the measuring and remeasuring are carried out using Active Appearance Model (AAM) software, the injecting is intra-articular and the patient has been diagnosed with osteoarthritis (OA).

12 . A method of reducing knee pain frequency by impacting a three-dimensional shape change of bone underlying articular cartilage in the affected joint, comprising

locally injecting into a joint of a patient a therapeutically effective amount of a formulation comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable, injectable carrier, and a pharmaceutically active peptide characterized by impacting shape change of bone underlying articular cartilage in the patient whereby shape change of the bone underlying articular cartilage in the patient is impacted.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the peptide is a peptide of SEQ ID No. 1.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the administration of the peptide of SEQ ID No. 1 is by subcutaneous or intra-articular injections.

15 . The method of claim 13 wherein the bone is patella bone.

16 . The method of claim 13 wherein the shape change is due to osteoarthritis.

17 . The method of claim 12 wherein the shape change is due to aging.

18 . A method of claim 12 , wherein the injection is a local injection to a joint of the subject and the subject is a human.

19 . A method of claim 12 , wherein the injection is intra-articular.

20 . A method of claim 18 , wherein the injection is intra-articular.