Osteoarthritis (OA) is a widespread chronic degenerative joint disease with an increasing global impact. The pathogenesis of OA involves complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Despite this, the specific genetic mechanisms underlying OA remain only partially understood, hindering the development of targeted therapeutic strategies. A transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) was conducted for site-specific OA phenotypes using functional summary-based imputation (FUSION). High-confidence candidate genes were identified through rigorous quality control measures, including joint/conditional analysis, permutation tests, best model evaluation, and colocalization analysis. Co-expression network analysis was performed to elucidate the functional biology of these candidate genes. Druggable gene targets and their structural models were retrieved from the DrugBank and SWISS-MODEL databases. Finally, the enrichment of mitogen-activated protein kinase 3 (Aims
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Excessive chondrocyte hypertrophy is a common feature in cartilage degeneration which is susceptible to joint overloading, but the relationship between mechanical overloading and chondrocyte hypertrophy still remains elusive. The aim of our study was to explore the mechanism of mechanical compression-induced chondrocyte hypertrophy. In this study, the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) degeneration model was built through forced mandibular retrusion (FMR)-induced compression in TMJ. Chondrocytes were also mechanically compressed in vitro. The role of O-GlcNAcylation in mechanical compression-induced chondrocyte hypertrophy manifested through specific activator Thiamet G and inhibitor OSMI-1.Aims
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Osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent and disabling disease with an unmet therapeutic need. The characteristic cartilage loss and alteration of other joint structures result from a complex interaction of multiple risk factors, with mechanical overload consistently playing a central role. This overload generates an inflammatory response in the cartilage due to the activation of the innate immune response in chondrocytes, which occurs through various cellular mechanisms. Moreover, risk factors associated with obesity, being overweight, and metabolic syndrome enhance the inflammatory response both locally and systemically. OA chondrocytes, the only cells present in articular cartilage, are therefore inflamed and initiate an anabolic process in an attempt to repair the damaged tissue, which ultimately results in an aberrant and dysfunctional process. Under these circumstances, where the cartilage continues to be subjected to chronic mechanical stress, proposing a treatment that stimulates the chondrocytes’ anabolic response to restore tissue structure does not appear to be a therapeutic target with a high likelihood of success. In fact, anabolic drugs proposed for the treatment of OA have yet to demonstrate efficacy. By contrast, multiple therapeutic strategies focused on pharmacologically managing the inflammatory component, both at the joint and systemic levels, have shown promise. Therefore, prioritizing the control of chronic innate pro-inflammatory pathways presents the most viable and promising therapeutic strategy for the effective management of OA. As research continues, this approach may offer the best opportunity to alleviate the burden of this incapacitating disease. Cite this article:
The primary objective of this study was to compare short-term implant survival between cemented and cementless fixation for the mobile-bearing Oxford medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) across various age groups. The secondary objectives were to compare modes of failure and to evaluate patient-reported outcomes. A total of 25,762 patients, comprising 8,022 cemented (31.1%) and 17,740 cementless (68.9%) medial UKA cases, were included from the Dutch Arthroplasty Register. Patient stratification was performed based on age: < 50 years, 50 to 59 years, 60 to 69 years, and ≥ 70 years. Survival rates and hazard ratios were calculated. Modes of failure were described and postoperative change in baseline for the Oxford Knee Score and numerical rating scale for pain at six and 12 months’ follow-up were compared.Aims
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Adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery can reduce pain and disability. However, the actual surgical efficacy of ASD in doing so is far from desirable, with frequent complications and limited improvement in quality of life. The accurate prediction of surgical outcome is crucial to the process of clinical decision-making. Consequently, the aim of this study was to develop and validate a model for predicting an ideal surgical outcome (ISO) two years after ASD surgery. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 458 consecutive patients who had undergone spinal fusion surgery for ASD between January 2016 and June 2022. The outcome of interest was achievement of the ISO, defined as an improvement in patient-reported outcomes exceeding the minimal clinically important difference, with no postoperative complications. Three machine-learning (ML) algorithms – LASSO, RFE, and Boruta – were used to identify key variables from the collected data. The dataset was randomly split into training (60%) and test (40%) sets. Five different ML models were trained, including logistic regression, random forest, XGBoost, LightGBM, and multilayer perceptron. The primary model evaluation metric was area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC).Aims
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To assess whether chronic knee pain (CKP) influenced health-related quality of life (HRQoL), knee-specific health, wellbeing, and use of opioid analgesia, and identify variables associated with CKP in patients awaiting knee arthroplasty. This study included 217 patients (mean age 69.7 years (SD 8.7), 116 female (53%)) who completed questionnaires that included the EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D) and EuroQol-visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS), Oxford Knee Score (OKS), and wellbeing assessments at six and 12 months after being listed for surgery. Analgesia use at 12 months was also recorded. CKP was defined using the OKS pain score (PS) of ≤ 14 points at 12 months.Aims
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Control of acute pain following knee arthroplasty (KA) with a perioperative peripheral nerve block (PNB) may improve functional outcomes and reduce the risk of chronic postoperative knee pain (CPKP). The aims of this study were to assess whether a PNB influences patient-reported outcomes and risk of CPKP at one year following KA. A retrospective study was conducted over a two-year period and included 3,338 patients who underwent KA, of whom 1,434 (43.0%) had a lower limb PNB. A total of 2,588 patients (77.6%) completed and returned their one-year follow-up questionnaire. The Oxford Knee Score (OKS) and pain component (OKS-PS), EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D), and EQ-visual analogue scale (VAS) were collected preoperatively and at one year postoperatively. Patient satisfaction was also recorded at one year. The OKS-PS was used to define CPKP at one year.Aims
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The February 2025 Sports Roundup360 looks at: Long-term outcomes of focal cartilage lesions of the knee; Comparison of early and delayed multiligament knee reconstruction; Platelet-rich plasma does not improve recovery after partial meniscectomy; Patient height and sex predict semitendinosus autograft diameter.
The February 2025 Knee Roundup. 360. looks at: Once-weekly semaglutide in patients with obesity and
This study was performed to investigate the association between the acetabular morphology and the joint space narrowing rate (JSNR) in the non-arthritic hip. We retrospectively reviewed standing whole-leg radiographs of patients who underwent knee arthroplasty from February 2012 to March 2020 at our institute. Patients with a history of hip surgery, Kellgren-Lawrence grade ≥ II hip osteoarthritis, or rheumatoid arthritis were excluded. The hip JSNR was measured, and the normalized JSNR (nJSNR) was calculated by calibrating the joint space width with the size of the femoral head in 395 patients (790 hips) with a mean age of 73.7 years (SD 8.6). The effects of the lateral centre-edge angle (CEA) and acetabular roof obliquity (ARO) in the standing and supine positions were examined using a multivariate regression model.Aims
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We estimated the prevalence of people living with at least one hip, knee, or shoulder arthroplasty in the Netherlands. We included the first hip (n = 416,333), knee (n = 314,569), or shoulder (n = 23,751) arthroplasty of each patient aged ≥ 40 years between 2007 and 2022 (hip/knee) or 2014 and 2022 (shoulder) from the Dutch Arthroplasty Register (LROI). Data on the size of the Dutch population were obtained from Statistics Netherlands. Annual incidences and deaths from hip and knee arthroplasty since 2010, and shoulder arthroplasty since 2015, were observed from the LROI. Annual incidences and deaths before those years were estimated using Poisson regression analyses and parametric survival models based on a Gompertz distribution. Non-parametric percentile bootstrapping with resampling was used to estimate 95% CIs.Aims
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In the treatment of basal thumb osteoarthritis (OA), intra-articular autologous fat transplantation has become of great interest within recent years as a minimally invasive and effective alternative to surgical intervention with regard to pain reduction. This study aims to assess its long-term effectiveness. Patients diagnosed with stage one to three OA received a single intra-articular autologous fat transplantation. Fat tissue was harvested from the abdomen and injected into the trapeziometacarpal (TMC) joint under radiological guidance, followed by one week of immobilization. Patients with a minimum three-year post-procedure period were assessed for pain level (numerical rating scale), quality of life (Mental Health Quotient (MHQ)), the abbreviated version of the Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (QuickDASH)), and grip and pinch strength, as well as their overall impression of the treatment. Wilcoxon tests compared data from pre-intervention, and at one and three years post-intervention.Aims
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Functional alignment (FA) in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) aims to achieve balanced gaps by adjusting implant positioning while minimizing changes to constitutional joint line obliquity (JLO). Although FA uses kinematic alignment (KA) as a starting point, the final implant positions can vary significantly between these two approaches. This study used the Coronal Plane Alignment of the Knee (CPAK) classification to compare differences between KA and final FA positions. A retrospective analysis compared pre-resection and post-implantation alignments in 2,116 robotic-assisted FA TKAs. The lateral distal femoral angle (LDFA) and medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA) were measured to determine the arithmetic hip-knee-ankle angle (aHKA = MPTA – LDFA), JLO (JLO = MPTA + LDFA), and CPAK type. The primary outcome was the proportion of knees that varied ≤ 2° for aHKA and ≤ 3° for JLO from their KA to FA positions, and direction and magnitude of those changes per CPAK phenotype. Secondary outcomes included proportion of knees that maintained their CPAK phenotype, and differences between sexes.Aims
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Better prediction of outcome after total hip arthroplasty (THA) is warranted. Systemic inflammation and central neuroinflammation are possibly involved in progression of osteoarthritis and pain. We explored whether inflammatory biomarkers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were associated with clinical outcome, and baseline pain or disability, 12 months after THA. A total of 50 patients from the Danish Pain Research Biobank (DANPAIN-Biobank) between January and June 2018 were included. Postoperative outcome was assessed as change in Oxford Hip Score (OHS) from baseline to 12 months after THA, pain was assessed on a numerical rating scale, and disability using the Pain Disability Index. Multiple regression models for each clinical outcome were included for biomarkers in blood and CSF, respectively, including age, sex, BMI, and Kellgren-Lawrence score.Aims
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Extracellular matrix (ECM) is a critical determinant of tissue mechanobiology, yet remains poorly characterized in joint tissues beyond cartilage in osteoarthritis (OA). This review aimed to define the composition and architecture of non-cartilage soft joint tissue structural ECM in human OA, and to compare the changes observed in humans with those seen in animal models of the disease. A systematic search strategy, devised using relevant matrix, tissue, and disease nomenclature, was run through the MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus databases. Demographic, clinical, and biological data were extracted from eligible studies. Bias analysis was performed.Aims
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The December 2024 Wrist & Hand Roundup360 looks at: Variability in thumb ulnar collateral ligament rupture management across the UK: survey insights; Identifying five distinct hand osteoarthritis pain phenotypes highlights the impact of biopsychosocial factors; Long-term outcomes of MAÏA TMC joint prosthesis for osteoarthritis: a possible alternative to trapeziectomy; Diagnostic and management strategies for malignant melanoma of the hand; Early versus delayed surgery for distal radius fractures: comparable outcomes but higher complications in delayed treatment; Perioperative anticoagulant and antiplatelet use does not increase complications in wide-awake hand surgery; Variability in treatment of metacarpal shaft fractures highlights need for standardized care; Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound ineffective in reducing time to union for scaphoid nonunion post-surgery.
The December 2024 Research Roundup. 360. looks at: Skeletal muscle composition, power, and mitochondrial energetics in older men and women with
