Aggrecan fragments are released from human joint cartilage matrix into joint fluid after injury and in osteoarthritis (OA). The temporal patterns of release agree with changes in synthesis and degradation of aggrecan found in experimental animal models of OA. However, we are far from being able to use these molecular fragments to monitor human OA. The structures of the aggrecan fragments remaining

Objective. To determine in a cross sectional study the concentrations in joint fluid of the C-propeptide of collagen II (pCol II-C) in patients with knee injury and developing osteoarthritis (OA). Methods. Synovial fluid (SF) samples were collected from knees of healthy volunteers, from patients with injury to the knee causing lesions of the anterior cruciate ligament and/or menisci, and from pati

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