Urine analysis of glucose tetrasaccharide by HPLC; a useful marker for the investigation of patients with Pompe and other glycogen storage diseases.

A high performance liquid chromatography method, adapted from an established urinary sugars method, has been developed for the analysis of a tetraglucose oligomer (Glc(4)) in urine. Pompe disease results from defects in the activity of lysosomal acid α-glucosidase (GAA) with patients typically excreting increased amounts of Glc(4). Rapid determination of GAA in dried blood spots is now possible.

Angiogenesis and nerve growth factor at the osteochondral junction in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

Objectives. The osteochondral junction can be a source of pain in both RA and OA. Growth of blood vessels and nerves from the subchondral bone into articular cartilage may mediate the association between joint pathology and symptoms.

Osteochondral angiogenesis and increased protease inhibitor expression in OA.

Objective: Normal cartilage is resistant to vascular invasion and anti-angiogenic protease inhibitors may contribute to its avascular status. We hypothesized that dysregulated expression of four key anti-angiogenic protease inhibitors may contribute to increased osteochondral vascularity in osteoarthritis (OA).

Design: Medial tibial plateaux from OA patients (n=40) were compared with those from non-arthritic controls collected post-mortem (PM, n=10).