Meniscal tears are the most common knee injuries, occurring in acute ruptures or in chronic degenerative conditions. Meniscectomy and meniscal repair are two surgical treatment options. Meniscectomy is easier, faster, and the patient can return to their normal activities earlier. However, this procedure has long-term consequences in the development of degenerative changes in the knee, potentially leading to knee replacement. On the other hand, meniscal repair can offer prolonged benefits to the patients, but it is difficult to perform and requires longer rehabilitation. Sutures are used for meniscal repairs, but they have limitations. They induce tissue damage when passing through the meniscus. Furthermore, under dynamic loading of the knee, they can cause tissue shearing and potentially lead to meniscal repair failure. Our team has developed a new technology of resistant adhesive hydrogels to coat the suture used to repair meniscal tissue. The objective of this study is to biomechanically compare two suture types on
Meniscal tears are the most common knee injuries, occurring in acute ruptures or in chronic degenerative conditions. Meniscectomy and meniscal repair are two surgical treatment options. Meniscectomy is easier, faster, and the patient can return to their normal activities earlier. However, this procedure has long-term consequences in the development of degenerative changes in the knee, potentially leading to knee replacement. On the other hand, meniscal repair can offer prolonged benefits to the patients, but it is difficult to perform and requires longer rehabilitation. Sutures are used for meniscal repairs, but they have limitations. They induce tissue damage when passing through the meniscus. Furthermore, under dynamic loading of the knee, they can cause tissue shearing and potentially lead to meniscal repair failure. Our team has developed a new technology of resistant adhesive hydrogels to coat the suture used to repair meniscal tissue. The objective of this study is to biomechanically compare two suture types on
Introduction. Intervertebral disc degeneration has been associated with low back pain (LBP) which is a major cause of long-term disability worldwide. Observed mechanical and biological modifications have been related to decreased water content. Clinical traction protocols as part of LBP management have shown positive outcomes. However, the underlying mechanical and biological processes are still unknown. The study purpose was to evaluate the impact of unloading through traction on the mechanobiology of healthy
Mincing cartilage with commercially available shavers is increasingly used for treating focal cartilage defects. This study aimed to compare the impact of mincing
Introduction: Seven patients underwent successful revision total knee replacement for aseptic loosening.
Miniscrew implants (MSIs) are widely used to provide absolute anchorage for the orthodontic treatment. However, the application of MSIs is limited by the relatively high failure rate (22.86%). In this study, we wished to investigate the effects of amorphous and crystalline biomimetic calcium phosphate coating on the surfaces of MSIs with or without the incorporated BSA for the osteointegration process with an aim to facilitate the early loading of MSIs. Amorphous and crystalline coatings were prepared on titanium mini-pin implants. Characterizations of coatings were examined by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Confocal laser-scanning dual-channel-fluorescence microscopy (CLSM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The loading and release kinetics of
More than 250,000 people are suffering from Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) related injuries each year in the US, with a cost of $17–25K/patient. There is an unmet clinical demand for improving grafts/scaffolds to provide biological integration in addition to mechanical support. Currently, no data is available for the utilization of fibrous scaffolds with bimodal distribution for ACL regeneration. The novelty in this study is that it proposes for the first time to investigate the collagen fibril diameter distribution in healthy and injured
Introduction: Human autologous chondrocyte transfer requires a small biopsy of articular cartilage (300–500 mg wet weight) obtained by arthroscopy from the patient’s knee joint. Chondrocytes are isolated and seeded at low density in monolayer culture to increase cell number. A common problem with this technique is that chondrocytes lose their phenotype by reverting to a fibroblast phenotype and synthesize a different matrix. Collagen type II and aggrecans are unique to hyaline cartilage-matrix. They form an extensive three-dimensional network of extracellular matrix in which other cell adhesion and growth factor molecules are integrated. It has been shown that a three dimension environment coupled with growth factors are important for the maintenance of the chondrocyte phenotype. Although cells cultured in alginate beads maintain their phenotype they do not proliferate well. Aim of study: To develop and optimise a
Introduction and Objective. Low back pain (LBP) is a major cause of long-term disability in adults worldwide and it is frequently attributed to intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. So far, no consensus has been reached regarding appropriate treatment and LBP management outcomes remain disappointing. Spine unloading or traction protocols are common non-surgical approaches to treat LBP. These treatments are widely used and result in pain relief, decreased disability or reduced need for surgery. However, the underlying mechanisms -namely, the IVD unloading mechanobiology- have not yet been studied. The aim of this first study was to assess the feasibility of IVD unloading in a large animal organ culture set-up and evaluate its impact on mechanobiology. Materials and Methods.
Purpose: To develop an improved understanding of the in vivo behavior of intervertebral disc (IVD) cells for determining the phenotype of a differentiated stem cell in tissue engineering applications. Methods: Nucleus pulposus (NP) and annulus fibrosus (AF) cells were isolated from adult
We tested four types of surgical
repair for load to failure and distraction in a
Fragmentation of SLRPs, including decorin, biglycan, lumican, keratocan and fibromodulin, has been shown to occur in osteoarthritic articular cartilage. We have previously shown an increased expression of lumican and keratocan, in osteoarthritic articular cartilage. The long-term aim of this project is to develop ELISAs for the detection of SLRP metabolites, and validate these potential biomarkers with synovial fluid and serum samples from a large cohort of normal and osteoarthritic patients. Initially, we aimed to determine whether SLRPs could be detected in synovial fluid and whether they were post-translationally modified with glycosaminoglycan (GAG) attachments; and whether
Few studies have investigated the direct effect of bacteria and their products on articular cartilage chondrocytes ex vivo. An ex vivo model that allows the analysis of chondrocytes in situ would therefore be an important and exciting area of future research. It was hypothesised that a
Introduction. Sclerostin has been implicated in mechanotransduction in bone and recent data show a lack of response to loading in the sclerostin transgenic mouse. Sclerostin, the protein product of the SOST gene, is an attractive therapeutic target for low bone mass conditions, including osteoporosis. It is expressed exclusively by mature osteocytes in bone and we have shown that sclerostin targets pre-osteocytes/osteocytes to regulate bone mineralization and osteoclast activity, as well as inducing catabolic gene expression in osteocytes themselves and promoting osteocyte-mediated bone loss (osteocytic osteolysis). The aim of this study was to examine the direct effects of sclerostin on anabolic responses to loading in bone ex vivo. Methods. 10 × 5mm
Peri-tendinous injection of local anaesthetic,
both alone and in combination with corticosteroids, is commonly performed
in the treatment of tendinopathies. Previous studies have shown
that local anaesthetics and corticosteroids are chondrotoxic, but
their effect on tenocytes remains unknown. We compared the effects
of lidocaine and ropivacaine, alone or combined with dexamethasone,
on the viability of cultured
Recent evidence indicates that link N can stimulate synthesis of proteoglycans and collagen by adult (2–4 years old)
The purpose of the study was to assess the incorporation of defatted, and deproteinated
Formation of micro-cracks occurs in bone due to daily activities. Through a mechanism of self-repair, these micro-cracks are detected, and the damaged areas are restored, avoiding further propagation. The Scissors Model suggests that the osteocyte processes that cross the micro-cracks break as consequence of the cyclic displacements of the micro-crack faces, due to fatigue, and this triggers the remodelling processes. A fresh
Articular cartilage has very poor repair potential, however it has an extraordinary capacity to withstand physiological mechanical loads in an intact joint. The nature and extent of chondrocyte death in articular cartilage following many forms of injury (trephine, scalpel, osteotome, sutures and drilling) has been characterised, but the ability to bear mechanical injury from iatrogenic surgical interventions is still unknown. A standard arthroscopic probe was moved at varying physiological pressures along the articular cartilage of joint before staining with fluorescent dyes to allow live/dead cell imaging using laser confocal scanning microscopy and imaging software, Image J.
Bone cement reaches high temperatures while polymerising. Bone has been shown to be sensitive to thermal injury with osteonecrosis reported after one minute at 47°C. Necrosis during cementing might compromise the bone-cement interface. Some surgeons fill the joint cavity with irrigation fluid to provide a heatsink during cementing, but this has not been supported by research. We used a model acetabulum in a