Articular cartilage repair & joint preservation: A review of the current status of biological approach

The articular cartilage of the joint is the thin viscoelastic layer of the connective tissue. It has a unique anatomy and physiology, which makes the repair of the articular cartilage damage more difficult and challenging due to its limited healing capacity. Increasing knowledge regarding the importance of articular cartilage for joint preservation has led to increased attention on early identification of cartilage damage as well as degeneration in order to delay osteoarthritis. There are various treatment modalities ranging from preventive management, physical therapy, pharmacological, non-pharmacological and surgical treatments exist in current literature. However most of the studies have limited long term follow up and mainly consists of small case series and case reports. This is an up to date concise review discussing the available management options for articular cartilage damage starting to lifestyle modification to pharmacotherapy, physiotherapy, and osteobiologics till various joint preservation techniques that have been in use currently.     

髌股关节骨性关节炎严重程度不影响保留髌骨全膝关节置换患者的预后

文题释义： 髌骨适合角：自股骨内外髁最高点分别向股骨髁间沟的最低点画2条直线，这2条线的夹角即为沟角，其角平分线和其顶点与髌骨下级之间的连线形成的夹角为适合角。 髌韧带比值：屈膝30°侧位像上使用Insall-Salvati指数评价髌骨的高度，测量髌腱长度即自髌骨下级至胫骨结节定点上缘，再测量髌骨最长对角线的长度，两者之间比为髌韧带比值。 背景：目前关于全膝关节置换过程中髌骨是否置换尚没有统一标准，对于髌骨置换和不置换的对照研究很多，但是在全膝关节置换不置换髌骨的研究中根据髌股关节炎严重程度分级来比较预后的研究很少。 目的：根据髌股关节炎的严重程度进行分级，比较髌股关节炎的轻重对保留髌骨的全膝关节置换疗效的影响。 方法：回顾性分析2016年1月至2017年1月郑州大学第一附属医院使用强生假体行髌骨保留的全膝关节置换患者192例的临床资料，随访时间大于2年。根据髌股关节炎影像学严重程度Lwano分类系统将患者分为2组，轻度组(0-Ⅰ期)83例，重度组(Ⅱ-Ⅳ期)109例。所有患者对治疗及试验方案均知情同意，且得到医院伦理委员会批准。使用美国膝关节协会评分、功能评分、Feller评分、膝前疼痛评分评估临床预后，使用髌骨倾斜角、适合角、髌骨外移距离、髌韧带比值评估影像学预后。运用t检验，分析患者术前、术后的临床和影像学结果。 结果与结论：①术后1例患者出现持续性膝前疼痛，1例患者伤口渗液，清创后二期愈合，其余均一期愈合；②术前轻度组和重度组患者的功能评分和美国膝关节协会评分差异有显著性意义(P < 0.05)，但术后2组功能评分和美国膝关节协会评分差异均无显著性意义(P > 0.05)；③影像学上，2组术前髌骨倾斜角、适合角、髌骨外移距离差异有显著性意义(P < 0.05)，但术后2组髌骨倾斜角、适合角、髌骨外移距离差异均无显著性意义(P > 0.05)；④提示在对保留髌骨的全膝关节置换患者进行至少2年的随访后发现，髌股关节炎的严重程度对患者的临床和影像学预后没有影响；即使在重度髌股关节炎患者中，保留髌骨的全膝关节置换后也能获得良好的预后。 ORCID: 0000-0002-2784-1542(徐长波) 中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：人工关节；骨植入物；脊柱；骨折；内固定；数字化骨科；组织工程     

The changing face of central chondrosarcoma of bone. One UK-based orthopaedic oncology unit’s experience of 33 years referrals

AimTo ascertain the changing incidence over time of the three commonest primary sarcomas of bone. Data obtained with particular reference to central chondrosarcoma from the annual referral rate to a large UK-based specialist orthopaedic oncology unit. To discuss how the “barnyard pen” analogy of cancers previously applied to certain commoner cancers can also be applicable to central chondrosarcoma (CS) of bone.Materials and methodsA retrospective review was conducted of a computerised database identifying all central cartilage tumours (CCT) of bone, including enchondroma and CS subtypes, between 1985 and 2018. These were compared with the referrals of the other two commonest primary sarcomas of bone, osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma.ResultsThere was a total of 1507 CS showing a 68% overall increase in annual referral rate/incidence over the study period. 68% cases were the borderline malignant lesions now known as atypical cartilaginous tumour (ACT). The annual referral rate/incidence of this entity increased by 194% over the 30 years. Whereas, the annual referral rate/incidence for osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma was static for the past 20 years.ConclusionThe annual incidence of central CS of bone showed a marked increase over the 33-year period as compared with both osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma. This is especially in the ACT category and is thought to be due to the increased provision of MRI scanning flagging up a rise in incidental findings. The spectrum of CCTs from benign to highly malignant elegantly fits the “barn yard” pen analogy and could prove useful as an explanatory tool for patients and clinicians unfamiliar with these diseases.     

Antiosteoarthritic effect of Punica granatum L. peel extract on collagenase induced osteoarthritis rat by modulation of COL‐2, MMP‐3, and COX‐2 expression

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative and musculoskeletal disorder. The toxicity associated with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) limits its use in the management of OA. To ameliorate these toxicities, natural antioxidants can be used as substitutes for the management of OA. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate the prophylactic mechanisms of Punica granatum L. peel (PGP) in collagenase‐induced OA rat compared with indomethacin. OA was induced in female Sprague Dawley rats by intraarticular injection of collagenase type‐II and treated with PGP (250 and 500 mg/kg body wt) and a positive control (PC) indomethacin (3 mg/kg body wt). The results demonstrated that PGP reduced the collagenase induced OA as compared with indomethacin treated group through reducing blood ALP (P < .001) and significantly (P < .001) inhibited cartilage erosion as indicated in histological slides with retention of collagen and proteoglycan content. Quantitative real‐time PCR analysis revealed the considerable (P < .05) upregulation in the expression of COL‐2 gene and downregulation of MMP‐3 and COX‐2 genes in the PGP treated group. The high phenolic content (633 ± 1.16 mg/GAE) and flavonoid content (420.3 ± 2.14 mg/RE) contribute to the strong antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ value (320 ± 2.2 μg/mL) of DPPH free radical scavenging activity. These results need further validation in clinical studies and thus, PGP could be developed as a preventive drug treatment for OA.     

Effect of esterified hyaluronic acid as middle ear packing in tympanoplasty for adhesive otitis media

Objectives: The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of middle ear packing agents (MEPA) on post-operative hearing improvement and complications after tympanoplasty in patients with adhesive otitis media (OM).

Materials and methods: Patients with adhesive OM who underwent tympanoplasty surgery were enrolled in the study between January 2012 and January 2015. A total of 205 patients who received canal wall-down tympanoplasty with ossicular chain reconstruction were randomized into one of the three groups with different MEPA. Group 1 (n?=?72) received MeroGel as the MEPA, Group 2 (n?=?64) cartilage, and Group 3 (n?=?69) both. Air conduction (AC) and bone conduction (BC) thresholds at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4?kHz were measured, and air-bone gaps (ABG) were analyzed before and after the surgery for each patient.

Results: Mean pre- and post-operative ABG was 30.9?dB and 17.6?dB in Group 1, 31.4?dB and 21.9?dB in Group 2, and 32.2?dB and 19.1?dB in Group 3. The ABG closure was 13.3?±?7.5 in Group 1, 9.5?±?5.9 in Group 2, and 13.1?±?9.3 in Group 3. The improvement of ABG after surgery was statistically significant in all three groups (p?p?Conclusions: Tympanoplasty using esterified hyaluronic acid (i.e. MeroGel) or cartilage as the MEPA resulted in improved hearing for patients with conductive hearing loss due to adhesive OM. Using MeroGel as the MEPA appeared to achieve a better post-operative outcome than using cartilage.     

The palatal septal cartilage implantation for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea

Objective

Patients with snoring and obstructive sleep apnea frequently have nasal and palatal obstruction. The objective of this study was to investigate the safety and feasibility of a palatal septal cartilage implant (SCI) for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.

Functional results in airflow improvement using a “flip-flap” alar technique: our experience

Introduction

Pinched nasal point can be arising as congenital malformation or as results of unsuccessfully surgery. The nasal valve alteration due to this problem is not only an esthetic problem but also a functional one because can modify the nasal airflow. Several surgical techniques were proposed in literature, we proposed our.