Approach to the patient with controlled acromegaly and acromegalic arthropathy: clinical diagnosis and management.

Following the description of an illustrative case of a 70-year-old female patient with longstanding active acromegaly and invalidating, progressive joint complaints, current insights regarding diagnosis, treatment, and long-term management of acromegalic arthropathy are summarized. Since clinical trials on this topic are lacking, the reported recommendations are based on extensive clinical and research experience with this clinical entity, and on established diagnostics and interventions in patients with other rheumatic diseases. The cornerstones of the management of acromegalic arthropathy remains normalization of growth hormone and insulin growth factor-1 levels.

CCN4/WISP1 Promotes Migration of Human Primary Osteoarthritic Chondrocytes.

Objectives: Previously, we have shown the involvement of cellular communication network factor 4/Wnt-activated protein Wnt-1-induced signaling protein 1 (CCN4/WISP1) in osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage and its detrimental effects on cartilage. Here, we investigated characteristics of CCN4 in chondrocyte biology by exploring correlations of CCN4 with genes expressed in human OA cartilage with functional follow-up.

Design: Spearman correlation analysis was performed for genes correlating with using our previously established RNA sequencing dataset of human preserved OA cartilage of the RAAK study, followed by a pathway enrichment analysis for genes with ρ ≥|0.

Hyaluronidase treatment of synovial fluid is required for accurate detection of inflammatory cells and soluble mediators.

Background: Synovial fluid (SF) is commonly used for diagnostic and research purposes, as it is believed to reflect the local inflammatory environment. Owing to its complex composition and especially the presence of hyaluronic acid, SF is usually viscous and non-homogeneous. In this study, we investigated the importance of homogenization of the total SF sample before subsequent analysis.

Fracture of the tibia after a fibula graft for mandibular reconstruction: A rare complication, report of a case.

A tibia fracture after a fibula harvest is a rare and serious condition; however, when treated adequately, it has a good outcome. The possibility of a fracture should be kept in mind and other pathology and/or metastasis should be ruled out.

RNA Sequencing Reveals Interacting Key Determinants of Osteoarthritis Acting in Subchondral Bone and Articular Cartilage: Identification of IL11 and CHADL as Attractive Treatment Targets.

Objective: To identify key determinants of the interactive pathophysiologic processes in subchondral bone and cartilage in osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: We performed RNA sequencing on macroscopically preserved and lesional OA subchondral bone from patients in the Research Arthritis and Articular Cartilage study who underwent joint replacement surgery due to OA (n = 24 sample pairs: 6 hips and 18 knees). Unsupervised hierarchical clustering and differential expression analyses were conducted.

Intensive rehabilitation in selected hip fracture patients may optimize care efficiency: A retrospective comparison study.

Objective: To gather preliminary data on the effectiveness of intensive rehabilitation after hip fracture surgery, as provided in the Transfer Unit (TU) in Leiden, The Netherlands, compared with the effectiveness of rehabilitation in a regular nursing home. Intensive rehabilitation in the TU consists of physical therapy twice daily by dedicated medical staff and aims to shorten hospital stay and duration of rehabilitation, in order to increase the hospital admission capacity and reduce waiting lists for nursing homes.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.