Osteoarthritis (OA) is mainly caused by ageing, strain, trauma, and congenital joint abnormalities, resulting in articular cartilage degeneration. During the pathogenesis of OA, the changes in subchondral bone (SB) are not only secondary manifestations of OA, but also an active part of the disease, and are closely associated with the severity of OA. In different stages of OA, there were microstructural changes in SB. Osteocytes, osteoblasts, and osteoclasts in SB are important in the pathogenesis of OA. The signal transduction mechanism in SB is necessary to maintain the balance of a stable phenotype, extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis, and bone remodelling between articular cartilage and SB. An imbalance in signal transduction can lead to reduced cartilage quality and SB thickening, which leads to the progression of OA. By understanding changes in SB in OA, researchers are exploring drugs that can regulate these changes, which will help to provide new ideas for the treatment of OA.

Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2023;12(9):536–545.

Aims

Research on hip biomechanics has analyzed femoroacetabular contact pressures and forces in distinct hip conditions, with different procedures, and used diverse loading and testing conditions. The aim of this scoping review was to identify and summarize the available evidence in the literature for hip contact pressures and force in cadaver and in vivo studies, and how joint loading, labral status, and femoral and acetabular morphology can affect these biomechanical parameters.

Transforming growth factor-beta2 (TGF-β2) is recognized as a versatile cytokine that plays a vital role in regulation of joint development, homeostasis, and diseases, but its role as a biological mechanism is understood far less than that of its counterpart, TGF-β1. Cartilage as a load-resisting structure in vertebrates however displays a fragile performance when any tissue disturbance occurs, due to its lack of blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatics. Recent reports have indicated that TGF-β2 is involved in the physiological processes of chondrocytes such as proliferation, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis, and the pathological progress of cartilage such as osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). TGF-β2 also shows its potent capacity in the repair of cartilage defects by recruiting autologous mesenchymal stem cells and promoting secretion of other growth factor clusters. In addition, some pioneering studies have already considered it as a potential target in the treatment of OA and RA. This article aims to summarize the current progress of TGF-β2 in cartilage development and diseases, which might provide new cues for remodelling of cartilage defect and intervention of cartilage diseases.

Aims

Metal allergy in knee arthroplasty patients is a controversial topic. We aimed to conduct a scoping review to clarify the management of metal allergy in primary and revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Osteoarthritis (OA), one of the most common motor system disorders, is a degenerative disease involving progressive joint destruction caused by a variety of factors. At present, OA has become the fourth most common cause of disability in the world. However, the pathogenesis of OA is complex and has not yet been clarified. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) refers to a group of RNAs more than 200 nucleotides in length with limited protein-coding potential, which have a wide range of biological functions including regulating transcriptional patterns and protein activity, as well as binding to form endogenous small interference RNAs (siRNAs) and natural microRNA (miRNA) molecular sponges. In recent years, a large number of lncRNAs have been found to be differentially expressed in a variety of pathological processes of OA, including extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation, synovial inflammation, chondrocyte apoptosis, and angiogenesis. Obviously, lncRNAs play important roles in regulating gene expression, maintaining the phenotype of cartilage and synovial cells, and the stability of the intra-articular environment. This article reviews the results of the latest research into the role of lncRNAs in a variety of pathological processes of OA, in order to provide a new direction for the study of OA pathogenesis and a new target for prevention and treatment.

Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2021;10(2):122–133.

Background

Due to the overwhelming demand for trauma services, resulting from increasing emergency department attendances over the past decade, virtual fracture clinics (VFCs) have become the fashion to keep up with the demand and help comply with the BOA Standards for Trauma and Orthopaedics (BOAST) guidelines. In this article, we perform a systematic review asking, “How useful are VFCs?”, and what injuries and conditions can be treated safely and effectively, to help decrease patient face to face consultations. Our primary outcomes were patient satisfaction, clinical efficiency and cost analysis, and clinical outcomes.

Aims

The aims of this study were to validate the outcome of total elbow arthroplasty (TEA) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to identify factors that affect the outcome.

Aims

Metabolic profiling is a top-down method of analysis looking at metabolites, which are the intermediate or end products of various cellular pathways. Our primary objective was to perform a systematic review of the published literature to identify metabolites in human synovial fluid (HSF), which have been categorized by metabolic profiling techniques. A secondary objective was to identify any metabolites that may represent potential biomarkers of orthopaedic disease processes.

Bone is one of the most highly adaptive tissues in the body, possessing the capability to alter its morphology and function in response to stimuli in its surrounding environment. The ability of bone to sense and convert external mechanical stimuli into a biochemical response, which ultimately alters the phenotype and function of the cell, is described as mechanotransduction. This review aims to describe the fundamental physiology and biomechanisms that occur to induce osteogenic adaptation of a cell following application of a physical stimulus. Considerable developments have been made in recent years in our understanding of how cells orchestrate this complex interplay of processes, and have become the focus of research in osteogenesis. We will discuss current areas of preclinical and clinical research exploring the harnessing of mechanotransductive properties of cells and applying them therapeutically, both in the context of fracture healing and de novo bone formation in situations such as nonunion.

Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2019;9(1):1–14.

This systematic review examines the current literature regarding surgical techniques for restoring articular cartilage in the hip, from the older microfracture techniques involving perforation to the subchondral bone, to adaptations of this technique using nanofractures and scaffolds. This review discusses the autologous and allograft transfer systems and the autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis (AMIC) technique, as well as a summary of the previously discussed techniques, which could become common practice for restoring articular cartilage, thus reducing the need for total hip arthroplasty. Using the British Medical Journal Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (BMJ GRADE) system and Grade system. Comparison of the studies discussed shows that microfracture has the greatest quantity and quality of research, whereas the newer AMIC technique requires more research, but shows promise.

Cite this article: W. E. Hotham, A. Malviya. A systematic review of surgical methods to restore articular cartilage in the hip. Bone Joint Res 2018;7:336–342. DOI: 10.1302/2046-3758.75.BJR-2017-0331.