OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - Aching knees, hips and hands are nothing new to those with Osteoarthritis, but a new study in Oklahoma focuses on the bloodstream with the hopes of finding out why some get it and others don’t. Scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) are digging deep into the disease that affects about 600 million people world wide with the hope of someday being able to prevent it. RELATED STORY: OMRF awarded $2 million to help with one-of-a-kind arthritis injection study "My lab has previously worked on discovering traces of bacteria within joints that change when you develop osteoarthritis and things like that,” OMRF arthritis research program director Matlock Jeffries, M.D. said. "But the question is how they get there." That’s the $400,000 question for Jeffries and the OMRF right now. His work was catapulted by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for that amount of money and their plan is to look at the bloodstream for answers. "We know that the bulk bacteria in the body's in the gut, especially in the large intestine,” Jeffries said. “So, we assume that it's trafficking through the bloodstream." Jeffries study will look into 1,500 blood samples to see if that bacteria is there. Along the way, he said they might find patterns to know if the disease will progress, or if they will have pain or not. "We hope we get both a better understanding of the disease, but also maybe some biomarkers to help us in clinic,” he said. LOCAL NEWS: Oklahoma City Council approves final plans for new animal shelter It’s the most common form of arthritis with half of those over age 60 getting it and it being the leading cause of disability in the U.S. However, it’s still complicated. Inflammation and potential bacteria are the main causes, not wear and tear. A healthy diet and weight can help reduce inflammation, but they hope they can find something to go further than that. "The underlying goal is to always figure out what's going on and how we might stop it,” he said. Jeffries is also in the middle of biomedical research hoping to reverse the affects of osteoarthritis. He said they’re still in preclinical work at Washington University in St. Louis and they have hopes to start doing some patient work in a couple years.