Correlation of the total superoxide dismutase activity between joint fluid and synovium in end-stage knee osteoarthritis.

Recently, we found significantly reduced total superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the cartilage of patients with end-stage knee osteoarthritis (OA). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the SOD activity in serum, joint fluid, cartilage, and synovial membrane samples collected from 52 patients with end-stage knee OA who underwent total knee arthroplasty. The relationship between the total SOD activity in each tissue was evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient.

Superoxide dismutase activity is significantly lower in end-stage osteoarthritic cartilage than non-osteoarthritic cartilage.

Recent studies have shown that superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), SOD2, and SOD3 are significantly decreased in human osteoarthritic cartilage. SOD activity is a marker that can be used to comprehensively evaluate the enzymatic capacities of SOD1, SOD2, and SOD3; however, the trend of SOD activity in end-stage osteoarthritic tissues remains unknown. In the present study, we found that SOD activity in end-stage osteoarthritic synovium of the knee was significantly lower than that in control synovium without the influence of age.

Mid and long term outcomes after fixation of osteochondritis dissecans.

Objective: To assess the longitudinal outcomes of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) fixation and to detect the influencing factor for the results of OCD.

Methods: 22 OCD fixation using bioabsorbable pins were assessed Lysholm score, Tegner activity scale and KOOS at preoperative, postoperative short (3.0 years) and mid-long (11.

Association of medial meniscal extrusion with medial tibial osteophyte distance detected by T2 mapping MRI in patients with early-stage knee osteoarthritis.

Background: Medial meniscal extrusion (MME) is associated with progression of medial knee osteoarthritis (OA), but no or little information is available for relationships between MME and osteophytes, which are found in cartilage and bone parts. Because of the limitation in detectability of the cartilage part of osteophytes by radiography or conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the rate of development and size of osteophytes appear to have been underestimated. Because T2 mapping MRI may enable us to evaluate the cartilage part of osteophytes, we aimed to examine the association between MME and OA-related changes, including osteophytes, by using conventional and T2 mapping MRI.

Preoperative timed single leg standing time is associated with the postoperative activity of daily living in aged disabled patients with end-stage knee osteoarthritis at six-months after undergoing total knee arthroplasty.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect size (ES) of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for the symptoms and lower limb function and identify preoperative factor(s) associated with the post-operative activity of daily living (ADL) in aged patients with end-stage knee OA undergoing TKA.

Methods: Fifty-nine aged patients with end-stage knee OA (mean age: 74.6 years) were enrolled in this study.

Preoperative assessments completed for anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions with remnant preservation.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the preoperative characteristics that are necessary to be able to perform reconstructions of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) with remnant preservation. The preoperative period was significantly shorter for patients in patients who received a reconstruction with remnant preservation than for those without remnant (3.9 months vs 16.

A novel patient-reported outcome measure for anterior cruciate ligament injury: evaluating the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of Japanese anterior cruciate ligament questionnaire 25.

Purpose: Despite objectively good results, up to 70 % of individuals may not return to their pre-injury level of sports activity after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery. Although psychological responses have been shown to affect outcomes after ACL injury, an appropriate means of measuring their effects, in addition to functional status, has not been determined. The purpose of this study was to develop a patient-reported questionnaire for measuring psychological factors associated with outcomes after ACL injury and to evaluate its reliability, validity, and responsiveness.

Diagnoses of psychiatric disorders in hypothetical patients by non-psychiatric physicians in Japan.

Objective: This study was undertaken to investigate non-psychiatric physicians' diagnoses of hypothetical patients in clinical scenarios with comorbid medical and psychiatric disease in Japan.

Methods: The non-psychiatric physicians were asked to diagnose eight clinical scenarios describing several typical behavioral health problems in the medical settings.

Results: A total of 155 non-psychiatric physicians participated.

Intra-articular hyaluronic acid injection versus oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: a multi-center, randomized, open-label, non-inferiority trial.

Introduction: While many of the commonly used conservative treatments for knee osteoarthritis (OA) have been recognized to be effective, there is still insufficient evidence available. Among the pharmacological treatments for knee OA, oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) act rapidly and are recommended for the management of OA. However, frequent and serious adverse effects of NSAIDs have been recognized.

ACL Reconstruction Preserving the ACL Remnant Achieves Good Clinical Outcomes and Can Reduce Subsequent Graft Rupture.

Background: Although anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction techniques that preserve remnant tissues have been described, complete preservation may be difficult, with little known about its clinical advantages.

Purpose: To compare clinical outcomes in patients undergoing ACL reconstruction with and without ACL remnant preservation.

Study Design: Case-control study.

[A study on the antiemetic effect and extrapyramidal symptoms of prochlorperazine versus perospirone for the control of nausea and vomiting due to opioid introduction].

Prochlorperazine is often used to prevent opioid-induced nausea; however, this drug causes extrapyramidal symptoms. It is important to determine the incidence of such symptoms and identify coping mechanisms because these symptoms induce intense and possibly life-threatening patient suffering. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidences of nausea and extrapyramidal symptoms associated with the use of prochlorperazine and perospirone as preventive antiemetics when initiating opioid treatment(a sustained-release tablet of oxycodone at a dose of 10 mg/day)and to compare the benefits of the 2 drugs.

Disability for daily living is a predictor for joint replacement in patients with end-stage knee osteoarthritis.

The objective indicators which reflect the past results of end-stage knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients who have already received total knee arthroplasty (TKA) could be helpful for physicians to discuss with patients who are considering TKA. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to examine whether we could predict the knee OA patients who would receive TKA in advance based on baseline data, and to set cut-off points for receiving TKA. The two-hundred and forty end-stage medial-type knee OA patients were enrolled and followed up for 6 months while performing therapeutic exercises.

Synovial perlecan is required for osteophyte formation in knee osteoarthritis.

The osteophyte associated with osteoarthritis (OA) is a bony outgrowth formed at the margins of the affected joint through endochondral ossification-like processes. However, the mechanism of osteophyte formation and its pathogenesis are unclear. Perlecan (Hspg2), a heparan sulfate proteoglycan, is expressed in many extracellular tissues and plays critical roles in skeletal development and diseases.

Reference intervals of serum hyaluronic acid corresponding to the radiographic severity of knee osteoarthritis in women.

Background: While serum levels of hyarulonic acid (sHA) is known to be useful for a burden of disease biomarker in knee OA, it is far from practical. The reference intervals must be established for biomarkers to be useful for clinical interpretation. The aim of this study was to establish the reference intervals of sHA corresponding to the radiographic severity of knee OA for elucidating whether sHA can be useful as a burden of disease marker for individual patient with knee OA.

Stimulation of Osteogenesis in Bone Defects Implanted with Biodegradable Hydroxyapatite Composed of Rod-Shaped Particles under Mechanical Unloading.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of mechanical unloading on the repair of bone defects with implantation of biodegradable bone substitutes. Spherical granules of biodegradable hydroxyapatite composed of rod-shaped particles (RHA) or beta-tricalcium phosphate composed of rod-shaped particles (RTCP) were implanted into a bone defect created in the distal end of the right femur of 8-week-old Wistar rats. Two, 6, 10, and 22 weeks after implantation, part of the sciatic nerve in the thigh was resected and exposed to mechanical unloading for 2 weeks.

Femoral tunneled central venous catheters for terminally ill patients with cancer.

Background: Oral administration of medication is often difficult in terminally ill patients with cancer. These patients require intravenous routes for high-dose opioid administration and/or parenteral nutrition. When the superior vena cava (SVC) is unsuitable for central vein catheter insertion (i.

Anabolic action of parathyroid hormone regulated by the β2-adrenergic receptor.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH), the major calcium-regulating hormone, and norepinephrine (NE), the principal neurotransmitter of sympathetic nerves, regulate bone remodeling by activating distinct cell-surface G protein-coupled receptors in osteoblasts: the parathyroid hormone type 1 receptor (PTHR) and the β(2)-adrenergic receptor (β(2)AR), respectively. These receptors activate a common cAMP/PKA signal transduction pathway mediated through the stimulatory heterotrimeric G protein. Activation of β(2)AR via the sympathetic nervous system decreases bone formation and increases bone resorption.

Heterogeneously vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (hVISA) emerged before the clinical introduction of vancomycin in Japan: a retrospective study.

Vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) and its precursor, heterogeneous VISA (hVISA), are increasingly the cause of vancomycin treatment failure. Prolonged glycopeptide treatment causes the emergence of these pathogens. However, we recently reported that hVISA can be generated by methicillin-resistant S.

Sympathetic control of bone mass regulated by osteopontin.

The sympathetic nervous system suppresses bone mass by mechanisms that remain incompletely elucidated. Using cell-based and murine genetics approaches, we show that this activity of the sympathetic nervous system requires osteopontin (OPN), a cytokine and one of the major members of the noncollagenous extracellular matrix proteins of bone. In this work, we found that the stimulation of the sympathetic tone by isoproterenol increased the level of OPN expression in the plasma and bone and that mice lacking OPN (OPN-KO) suppressed the isoproterenol-induced bone loss by preventing reduced osteoblastic and enhanced osteoclastic activities.

Evaluation of the effect of oxidative stress on articular cartilage in spontaneously osteoarthritic STR/OrtCrlj mice by measuring the biomarkers for oxidative stress and type II collagen degradation/synthesis.

To investigate the involvement of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA), we evaluated the relationship between oxidative stress and articular cartilage degradation by measuring the serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA, an oxidative stress marker), CTX-II (a type II collagen degradation marker) and CPII (a type II collagen synthesis marker) in obese and hyperlipidemic STR/Ort (STR) and control CBA mice. Seven-week-old osteoarthritic STR male mice (n=10) and control CBA male mice (n=10) were fed standard laboratory food ad libitum. At 35 weeks of age, the mice were sacrificed, and the serum levels of MDA, CTX-II and CPII were determined.

Relationships between biomarkers of cartilage, bone, synovial metabolism and knee pain provide insights into the origins of pain in early knee osteoarthritis.

Introduction: We tested the hypothesis that there exist relationships between the onset of early stage radiographically defined knee osteoarthritis (OA), pain and changes in biomarkers of joint metabolism.

Methods: Using Kellgren-Lawrence (K/L) grading early radiographic knee OA (K/L 2) was detected in 16 of 46 patients. These grades (K/L 1 is no OA and K/L 2 is early OA) were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of persistent knee pain.

Per-1 is a specific clock gene regulated by parathyroid hormone (PTH) signaling in osteoblasts and is functional for the transcriptional events induced by PTH.

Per-1 is one of the clock genes and is known to regulate various biological events including bone mass determination. Parathyroid hormone is anabolic to bone while the mechanism of its action is not fully understood. Here, we examined the role of PTH on Per-1 gene expression under osteoblast specific PTH signaling.