Objective - To assess the effects of intraarticular injections of hyaluronan on symptoms of knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods - Two hundred and forty patients with symptomatic, radiological knee OA were randomly assigned to treatment with weekly injections for five weeks with either 25 mg of high molecular weight hyaluronan or vehicle. Results were evaluated at weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 13, and 20 by v

Deep flexor tendons of 30 rabbits were divided at the ankle level. The effects of unloading on the synthesis and content of matrix components, the synthesis of DNA, and dry weight were investigated. The reaction of the fibrocartilaginous and non-fibrocartilaginous segments were separately analyzed. The ability of the tendons to synthesize collagen during short-term culture and the contents of matr

Tendon healing and integration of tendon grafts may be site or donor specific. To determine if differences exist in sensitivity to growth factors that have the potential to influence tendon repair, we compared the effect of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-1 on various types of tendon segments. The dose response effects on proteoglycan, collagen, noncollagen protein, and DNA synthesis

Objective - To detect evidence for localised changes in bone matrix metabolism after joint trauma and in post-traumatic osteoarthritis by quantification of bone sialoprotein in joint fluid and serum after knee injury in a cross sectional study. Methods - Samples of knee joint fluid and serum were obtained from volunteers with normal knees (n = 19), patients with rupture of the anterior cruciate li

Biochemical markers for osteoarthritis (OA) may serve different purposes. Since markers reflect ongoing dynamic metabolic processes in the joint tissues (cartilage, synovium, bone, etc.), they are most likely to be useful to predict prognosis and response to treatment, to monitor response to treatment, and for disease staging. Markers are currently being used at the research level for these purpos

To examine the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and aggrecanase in control and diseased human articular cartilage, metabolic fragments of aggrecan were detected with monospecific antipeptide antibodies. The distribution and quantity of MMP-generated aggrecan G1 fragments terminating in VDIPEN341 were compared with the distribution of aggrecanase-generated G1 fragments terminating in NI

Forty patients with traumatic knee hemarthrosis were examined within 1 week after injury and observations made with magnetic resonance imaging, scintigraphy, arthroscopic evaluation, radiography, and physical examination were compared. Thirty-four patients (85%) had anterior cruciate ligament injuries according to the arthroscopic findings and 28 (83%) of these had associated meniscal tears. Magne

The concentrations of proteoglycan fragments and stromelysin were analyzed in joint aspirates in 19 children with Legg-Calve-Perthes disease. We found increased levels of proteoglycan fragments and stromelysin consistent with the presence of synovitis, an important clinical and possibly also prognostic factor in these children.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is associated with a loss of the normal balance between synthesis and degradation of the macromolecules that provide articular cartilage with its biomechanical and functional properties. The destruction of joint cartilage involves the degradation of matrix molecules which are released as fragments to joint fluid, blood, and urine, where they may be detected, for example, by imm

We determined the concentration of markers in cartilage and synovium metabolism in the synovial fluid (SF) of the knee of young beagle dogs with slowly progressive osteoarthrosis. Osteoarthrosis (OA) was induced by a tibial 30°valgus osteotomy to the right hindlimb of 16 dogs. The contralateral knee served as control. The animals were killed 7 (group I) and 18 months (group II) after operation. Th

Osteoarthritis of the knee is not a well defined illness, but is a result of different causes that may lead to joint failure due to chondral damage, synovial inflammation, subchondral bone formation, and the formation of osteophytes along the joint lines. The pathogenesis is unclear. We still lack treatment to cure the early prosess of chondral degeneration. The treatment of choice in early and mo

The Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) is a self-administered instrument measuring outcome after knee injury at impairment, disability, and handicap level in five subscales. Reliability, validity, and responsiveness of a Swedish version was assessed in 142 patients who underwent arthroscopy because of injury to the menisci, anterior cruciate ligament, or cartilage of the knee. The

There is broad consensus that good outcome measures are needed to distinguish interventions that are effective from those that are not. This task requires standardized, patient-centered measures that can be administered at a low cost. We developed a questionnaire to assess short- and long-term patient-relevant outcomes following knee injury, based on the WOMAC Osteoarthritis Index, a literature re

Objective: To determine the within- and between-patient variability in the concentrations of synovial fluid, serum and urine markers of joint tissue metabolism in a cohort of patients with knee pain and cartilage changes consistent with early-stage knee osteoarthritis. Design: Samples of synovial fluid, serum, and urine were obtained from 52 patients on eight different occasions during 1 year, as

Adult human joint cartilage lesions do not spontaneously heal. Patients with isolated articular cartilage lesions make up perhaps some 1% of the total number of patients examined by arthroscopy. Symptoms such pain and locking, and the suggestion that the untreated lesions may progress to osteoarthritis form the basis for current attempts to repair articular cartilage by cell transplantation and ot

Objective: To further our understanding of the pathogenesis of chondromalacia of the patella (CM), we have studied the release into knee joint fluid and serum, obtained from patients with CM, of molecules associated with the metabolism of joint cartilage matrix and synovium. Methods: Interleukin-1 α (IL-1α), interleukin-1 β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), stromelysin-1 (MMP-3), interstitial collage

Objective. To study the long-term outcome of surgical removal of a meniscus in the knee with regard to radiographic signs of osteoarthritis (OA). Methods. Of the 123 patients who underwent an open meniscectomy due to an isolated meniscus tear in 1973 at Lund University Hospital, 107 were followed up 21 years later by clinical examination and by review of knee radiographs obtained with weight beari

We report the incidence of total hip replacements performed in Iceland between 1982 and 1996. During this period, 3403 hip arthroplasties were done. The annual number of procedures increased from 94 hips in 1982 to 323 hips in 1996. Annual rates of total hip replacements due to primary osteoarthrosis per 105 inhabitants were 68 in 1982-1986, 90 in 1987-1991, and 114 in 1992-1996. In the years 1992