Orthopedics » Osteoarthritis Articles & Stories

An osteoporosis drug that is the first ever known to prevent cartilage loss following injury to a joint may also regenerate some cartilage that has been lost to osteoarthritis, according to research presented at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research in Denver. Though this initial study was done on mice, study authors claim that the model closely resembles human osteoarthritis that develops following knee injuries.
( Read more about Drug May Extend Life of Arthritic Knees and Hips)

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A recent study of middle-aged and elderly patients showed that damage to the cushioning cartilage in the knee can often lead to osteoarthritis. The cartilage is known as the meniscus. Actually, there are two menisci, one on the inside of the knee and one on the outside. These tough, resilient, wedge-shaped cushions protect the thigh bone (femur) and main shin bone (tibia) from damaging one another and properly distribute the load of the body onto the joint.
( Read more about Knee Cartilage Damage Raises Osteoarthritis Risk)

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A tear of a cartilage cushion or meniscus is one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries, and removal of the torn fragments, or menisectomy, is one of the most common orthopaedic procedures done in the United States every day. The two menisci (plural) are semi-circular structures in the knee that help the relatively round femur or thigh bone conform to the flatter tibia or leg bone below.
( Read more about Expert Commentary: Thomas Murray, Jr., M.D. 9/23/2009)

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A condition in which there is radically abnormal bone growth stems from bone-forming cells that line blood vessels deep within skeletal muscle tissue, not, as would have been expected, from muscle stem cells, according to a recent study. It also showed that cells involved in the body’s immune response to inflammation unleash bone-producing proteins that convert muscle into bone.
   
The study, carried out by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the University of Connecticut, was published in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.

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A hormone naturally produced in the body seems to stimulate stem cells to promote bone growth, a recent study revealed. The findings may hold hope for developing new treatments for osteoporosis, a disorder in which the bones lose calcium and become dangerously brittle, especially in older people. The condition affects one in four women over the age of 50, according to the World Health Organization.
   
The experiment with the hormone, known as interferon gamma, is discussed in a paper published in the journal Stem Cells, and was performed by scientists at the Aging Bone Research Center of the University of Sydney’s Nepean Clinical School, and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center.

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Older dental patients should not stop taking osteoporosis medications over fear of developing a rare condition in which portions of the jawbone die, a new public-information brochure says.
   
Fear has been rising recently over the fact that some patients who have taken bisphosphonates, a group of drugs that work to reverse osteoporosis, a condition of low bone density, have developed bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaw. The malady, in which the bone of the jaw necrotizes, or dies, is rare but serious, and can badly damage the jawbone. It’s diagnosed in patients who have an area of exposed bone in the jaw that lasts for at least eight weeks, who have no history of head or neck radiation therapy and who are taking, now or in the past, a bisphosphonate drug.

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- Expert Commentary: Thomas Murray, Jr., M.D. 9/23/2009

Women - and men - can fend off bone-thinning osteoporosis by being aggressive about eating well, taking calcium and vitamin D supplements, and doing regular weight-bearing exercise, says Dr. Alan Gibstein, an expert on women's issues. "Since all women lose calcium after age 30, they need to do everything they can to keep what they have. Men, too," says Gibstein, who is an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the New York University College of Medicine and a teacher at the Long Island Jewish North Shore Health Care System. The stereotype is that osteoporosis is a disease of older women. But the reality is that the disorder is a significant threat to more than 2 million American men.

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A computer-aided bone-implant technique is coming on line that will increase the accuracy of implant insertions and decrease operating room time for hip, shoulder, knee and ankle replacements - especially for younger patients. The novel technology relies on software newly developed by the Human Mobility Research Center in Kingston, Ontario. It also depends on computed tomography (CT) scans of a patient's damaged joint. The software creates an exact, patient-specific, 3-D image of the joint and nearby bones, which can then be turned into a plastic model. This, in turn, is used for precise alignment and placement of the metal implants needed to redo the patient's joint with - in the case of hip surgery - so-called hip resurfacing arthroplasty.

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If you have osteoarthritis of the knees, with all of the pain and loss of flexibility that entails, chances are your doctor has recommended arthroscopic surgery. This is a procedure in which the surgeon inserts a scope into the knee and cleans out bits of loose bone and smoothes rough cartilage. But there are ways to avoid this invasive, expensive surgery and actually alleviate the arthritis.

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Medicine is ever advancing - and that includes orthopedic medicine, which has now developed gender-specific artificial knees that match the subtle anatomical differences between men and women. Technicians have also produced a computer program to assist orthopedic surgeons in correctly positioning replacement knees. These two elements - gender-specificity and computer-navigated surgery - are being hotly discussed these days whenever orthopedic surgeons come together in professional gatherings.

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