-
BioMed Research International 2023Biomechanics researchers often experimentally measure static or fluctuating dynamic contact forces, areas, and stresses at the interface of natural and artificial... (Review)
Review
Biomechanics researchers often experimentally measure static or fluctuating dynamic contact forces, areas, and stresses at the interface of natural and artificial joints, including the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. This information helps explain joint contact mechanics, as well as mechanisms that may contribute to disease, damage, and degradation. Currently, the most common in vitro experimental technique involves a thin pressure-sensitive film inserted into the joint space; but, the film's finite thickness disturbs the joint's ordinary articulation. Similarly, the most common in vivo experimental technique uses video recording of 3D limb motion combined with dynamic analysis of a 3D link-segment model to calculate joint contact force, but this does not provide joint contact area or stress distribution. Moreover, many researchers may be unaware of older or newer alternative techniques that may be more suitable for their particular research application. Thus, this article surveys over 50 years of English-language scientific literature in order to (a) describe the basic working principles, advantages, and disadvantages of each technique, (b) examine the trends among the studies and methods, and (c) make recommendations for future directions. This article will hopefully inform biomechanics investigators about various in vitro and in vivo experimental methods for studying the contact mechanics of joints.
Topics: Motion; Research Design; Joints; Cartilage, Articular; Biomechanical Phenomena; Stress, Mechanical
PubMed: 37780487
DOI: 10.1155/2023/4914082 -
Skeletal Radiology Nov 2023Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely regarded as the primary modality for the morphological assessment of cartilage and all other joint tissues involved in... (Review)
Review
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely regarded as the primary modality for the morphological assessment of cartilage and all other joint tissues involved in osteoarthritis. 2D fast spin echo fat-suppressed intermediate-weighted (FSE FS IW) sequences with a TE between 30 and 40ms have stood the test of time and are considered the cornerstone of MRI protocols for clinical practice and trials. These sequences offer a good balance between sensitivity and specificity and provide appropriate contrast and signal within the cartilage as well as between cartilage, articular fluid, and subchondral bone. Additionally, FS IW sequences enable the evaluation of menisci, ligaments, synovitis/effusion, and bone marrow edema-like signal changes. This review article provides a rationale for the use of FSE FS IW sequences in the morphological assessment of cartilage and osteoarthritis, along with a brief overview of other clinically available sequences for this indication. Additionally, the article highlights ongoing research efforts aimed at improving FSE FS IW sequences through 3D acquisitions with enhanced resolution, shortened examination times, and exploring the potential benefits of different magnetic field strengths. While most of the literature on cartilage imaging focuses on the knee, the concepts presented here are applicable to all joints. KEY POINTS: 1. MRI is currently considered the modality of reference for a "whole-joint" morphological assessment of osteoarthritis. 2. Fat-suppressed intermediate-weighted sequences remain the keystone of MRI protocols for the assessment of cartilage morphology, as well as other structures involved in osteoarthritis. 3. Trends for further development in the field of cartilage and joint imaging include 3D FSE imaging, faster acquisition including AI-based acceleration, and synthetic imaging providing multi-contrast sequences.
Topics: Humans; Cartilage, Articular; Knee Joint; Knee; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Osteoarthritis; Magnetic Resonance Imaging
PubMed: 37154871
DOI: 10.1007/s00256-023-04343-2 -
Physical and Engineering Sciences in... Mar 2023The knee is one of the most stressed joints of the human body, being susceptible to ligament injuries and degenerative diseases. Due to the rising incidence of knee... (Review)
Review
The knee is one of the most stressed joints of the human body, being susceptible to ligament injuries and degenerative diseases. Due to the rising incidence of knee pathologies, the number of knee X-rays acquired is also increasing. Such X-rays are obtained for the diagnosis of knee injuries, the evaluation of the knee before and after surgery, and the monitoring of the knee joint's stability. These types of diagnosis and monitoring of the knee usually involve radiography under physical stress. This widely used medical tool provides a more objective analysis of the measurement of the knee laxity than a physical examination does, involving knee stress tests, such as valgus, varus, and Lachman. Despite being an improvement to physical examination regarding the physician's bias, stress radiography is still performed manually in a lot of healthcare facilities. To avoid exposing the physician to radiation and to decrease the number of X-ray images rejected due to inadequate positioning of the patient or the presence of artefacts, positioning systems for stress radiography of the knee have been developed. This review analyses knee positioning systems for X-ray environment, concluding that they have improved the objectivity and reproducibility during stress radiographs, but have failed to either be radiolucent or versatile with a simple ergonomic set-up.
Topics: Humans; X-Rays; Reproducibility of Results; Knee Joint; Knee; Radiography
PubMed: 36692683
DOI: 10.1007/s13246-023-01221-y -
Cells, Tissues, Organs 2024The impact of mild synovitis on the chondrogenic environment in the joint pertaining to cartilage repair is often neglected. In this study, 21 synovial samples were...
The impact of mild synovitis on the chondrogenic environment in the joint pertaining to cartilage repair is often neglected. In this study, 21 synovial samples were collected from foot surgeries for histology and isolation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs). Of the 21 samples, 13 were normal and eight were mild synovitis, according to their synovitis scores. In mild synovitis, CD3+ lymphocytes were increased in the sublining layer. When chondrocytes were cultured and treated with the conditioned medium produced by FLSs, their glycosaminoglycan production was negatively correlated with the synovitis scores of the synovium, from which FLSs were isolated. In conclusion, mild synovitis in common joint conditions compromises the process of chondrogenesis, via inhibiting chondrocyte matrix production by FLSs. The results suggest that the concomitant synovitis, even being mild, could significantly alter the joint environment for chondrogenesis and impair the outcome of cartilage repair.
Topics: Humans; Synovitis; Chondrogenesis; Chondrocytes; Middle Aged; Male; Female; Synoviocytes; Adult; Aged; Glycosaminoglycans; Cells, Cultured; Joints; Culture Media, Conditioned; Synovial Membrane
PubMed: 37524055
DOI: 10.1159/000532008 -
Cartilage Dec 2023The objective of this study was to determine the level of disease severity in a pilot cohort of temporomandibular joints (TMJs) and compare them to the pathology...
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to determine the level of disease severity in a pilot cohort of temporomandibular joints (TMJs) and compare them to the pathology findings previously characterized in cadaveric knee joints.
DESIGN
Thirty-one intact TMJs from 17 cadaveric donors were harvested and arthritic lesioning seen in the knee joint was investigated on the condyle and the fossa of the TMJ. Prevalence of gross alterations was equated and disease severity was determined for sex- and age-based donor pools using a validated, osteoarthritis (OA) disease severity scale (DSS). Knee joint DSS scores were also compared to the TMJ condyle and fossa DSS scores and a case study was carried out on a male donor that demonstrated severe OA in the both joints.
RESULTS
The mandibular fossa demonstrated an increase in disease severity compared to the mandibular condyle in a mixed sex donor pool ( = 0.035). It was discovered that the younger females demonstrated statistically more pathological condyles compared to the older half of the female subgroup ( 0.02). TMJ fossa and knee joints demonstrated comparable OA severity and similar signs of cartilage disease in a single donor highlighting the systemic nature of OA.
CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates that gross signs of OA in the TMJs of cadavers are comparable to pathology found in the knee. The mandibular fossa appears to be the site of more profound disease, implying translational movements may be more likely to induce biomechanically abnormal movement, loading, and OA.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders; Temporomandibular Joint; Osteoarthritis; Knee Joint; Patient Acuity; Cadaver
PubMed: 37551826
DOI: 10.1177/19476035231189839 -
Journal of Orthopaedic Research :... Sep 2023Progressive collapsing foot deformity (PCFD) is characterized by a progressive subluxation of the peritalar bones and respective joints. Two-dimensional conventional...
Progressive collapsing foot deformity (PCFD) is characterized by a progressive subluxation of the peritalar bones and respective joints. Two-dimensional conventional radiographs are limited in their ability to visualize the peritalar bones and joints with adequate detail to describe the complex three-dimensional deformity. An improved understanding of the relationship between joint coverage and deformity would allow clinicians to use coverage analysis to distinguish among the stages of PCFD. The aim of this study was to analyze the joint coverage of the six articular relationships within the talocrural, subtalar, and Chopart joints using weightbearing computed tomography (WBCT) scans. Ten individuals with a flexible hindfoot and ten individuals with a rigid hindfoot presentation of PCFD were compared to twenty-seven asymptomatic control individuals. The three most relevant findings are: (I) the anterior-medial facet of the subtalar joint contains the greatest reduction in coverage for patients with a rigid deformity, (II) an increase in talonavicular overlap (TNO) moderately correlated with a decreased coverage in the: tibiotalar, anterior-medial subtalar, talonavicular joints, and (III) the calcaneocuboid joint lacks radiographic values to adequately quantify alignment and coverage. To conclude, there were significant differences in coverage area of various articulating regions throughout the hind- and midfoot when comparing PCFD patients to asymptomatic control individuals. Relevant radiographic measures correlating to articular coverage areas of clinical interest were identified, possibly helping to better quantify PCFD in clinical practice.
Topics: Humans; Flatfoot; Foot Deformities; Foot; Subtalar Joint; Tarsal Joints; Weight-Bearing
PubMed: 36891918
DOI: 10.1002/jor.25543 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2022Inflammatory arthritis is an inflammatory disease that involves the joints and surrounding tissues. Synovial hyperplasia often presents when joints become inflamed due...
Inflammatory arthritis is an inflammatory disease that involves the joints and surrounding tissues. Synovial hyperplasia often presents when joints become inflamed due to immune cell infiltration. Synovial membrane is an important as well as a highly specific component of the joint, and its lesions can lead to degeneration of the joint surface, causing pain and joint disability or affecting the patients' quality of life in severe cases. Synovial macrophages (SMs) are one of the cellular components of the synovial membrane, which not only retain the function of macrophages to engulf foreign bodies in the joint cavity, but also interact with synovial fibroblasts (SFs), T cells, B cells, and other inflammatory cells to promote the production of a variety of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8, and IL-6, which are involved in the pathogenic process of inflammatory arthritis. SMs from different tissue sources have differently differentiated potentials and functional expressions. This article provides a summary on studies pertaining to SMs in inflammatory arthritis, and explores their role in its treatment, in order to highlight novel treatment modalities for the disease.
Topics: Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Humans; Joints; Macrophages; Quality of Life; Synovial Membrane
PubMed: 35958604
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.905356 -
Aging Mar 2023
Topics: Coumarins; Joints
PubMed: 36988500
DOI: 10.18632/aging.204633 -
Biology Open Jun 2022The synovial cavity and its fluid are essential for joint function and lubrication, but their developmental biology remains largely obscure. Here, we analyzed E12.5 to...
The synovial cavity and its fluid are essential for joint function and lubrication, but their developmental biology remains largely obscure. Here, we analyzed E12.5 to E18.5 mouse embryo hindlimbs and discovered that cavitation initiates around E15.0 with emergence of multiple, discrete, µm-wide tissue discontinuities we term microcavities in interzone, evolving into a single joint-wide cavity within 12 h in knees and within 72-84 h in interphalangeal joints. The microcavities were circumscribed by cells as revealed by mTmG imaging and exhibited a carbohydrate and protein content based on infrared spectral imaging at micro and nanoscale. Accounting for differing cavitation kinetics, we found that the growing femur and tibia anlagen progressively flexed at the knee over time, with peak angulation around E15.5 exactly when the full knee cavity consolidated; however, interphalangeal joint geometry changed minimally over time. Indeed, cavitating knee interzone cells were elongated along the flexion angle axis and displayed oblong nuclei, but these traits were marginal in interphalangeal cells. Conditional Gdf5Cre-driven ablation of Has2 - responsible for production of the joint fluid component hyaluronic acid (HA) - delayed the cavitation process. Our data reveal that cavitation is a stepwise process, brought about by sequential action of microcavities, skeletal flexion and elongation, and HA accumulation. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Topics: Animals; Embryo, Mammalian; Hindlimb; Joints; Mice
PubMed: 35608281
DOI: 10.1242/bio.059381 -
Veterinary Journal (London, England :... Jan 2021Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin with many functions. In humans, it is involved in inflammation, nerve growth, apoptosis and pain signalling. Increased...
Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin with many functions. In humans, it is involved in inflammation, nerve growth, apoptosis and pain signalling. Increased concentrations of NGF in synovial fluid has been shown in humans and dogs with osteoarthritis. Despite osteoarthritis being a common problem in horses, no studies have previously been published on NGF in the equine joint. The aim of this study was to quantify NGF in equine synovial fluid from healthy joints, acutely inflamed septic joints and joints with structural changes associated with osteoarthritis. A secondary aim was to identify the localisation of NGF and its two receptors, TrkA and p75, in healthy and osteoarthritic articular cartilage. NGF concentrations in synovial fluid from osteoarthritic joints (n = 27), septic joints (n = 9) and healthy joints (n = 16) were determined by ELISA. In addition, articular cartilage from osteoarthritic and healthy joints was examined for NGF, TrkA and p75 using immunohistochemistry staining. NGF was present in equine synovial fluid and articular cartilage. Compared to synovial fluid from healthy joints, NGF concentration was higher in synovial fluid from joints with structural osteoarthritic changes (P = 0.032) or acute septic inflammation (P = 0.006). In articular cartilage with severe osteoarthritic changes, there was more abundant positive immunohistochemistry staining for NGF and its receptors than in normal articular cartilage. Further studies should focus on identifying precursor forms of NGF, and on receptor expression and downstream signalling of TrkA and P75 in health and disease.
Topics: Animals; Arthritis, Infectious; Cartilage, Articular; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Horse Diseases; Horses; Immunohistochemistry; Inflammation; Joints; Lameness, Animal; Nerve Growth Factor; Osteoarthritis; Synovial Fluid
PubMed: 33375964
DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2020.105579