The aim of this study was to assess the effect
of injecting genetically engineered chondrocytes expressing transforming
growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) into the knees of patients with osteoarthritis.
We assessed the resultant function, pain and quality of life. A total of 54 patients (20 men, 34 women) who had a mean age
of 58 years (50 to 66) were blinded and randomised (1:1) to receive
a single injection of the active treatment or a placebo. We assessed
post-treatment function, pain severity, physical function, quality
of life and the incidence of treatment-associated adverse events. Patients
were followed at four, 12 and 24 weeks after injection. At final follow-up the treatment group had a significantly greater
improvement in the mean International Knee Documentation Committee
score than the placebo group (16 points; -18 to 49, This technique may result in improved clinical outcomes, with
the aim of slowing the degenerative process, leading to improvements
in pain and function. However, imaging and direct observational
studies are needed to verify cartilage regeneration. Nevertheless,
this study provided a sufficient basis to proceed to further clinical testing. Cite this article:
We aimed to obtain anthropometric data on Korean
knees and to compare these with data on commonly available total
knee arthroplasties (TKAs). The dimensions of the femora and tibiae
of 1168 knees were measured intra-operatively. The femoral components
were found to show a tendency toward mediolateral (ML) under-coverage
in small femurs and ML overhang in the large femurs. The ML under-coverage
was most prominent for the small prostheses. The ML/anteroposterior
(ML/AP) ratio of Korean tibiae was greater than that of tibial components. This study shows that, for different reasons, current TKAs do
not provide a reasonable fit for small or large Korean knees, and
that the ‘gender-specific’ and ‘stature-specific’ components help
for large Korean femurs but offer less satisfactory fits for small
femurs. Specific modifications of prostheses are needed for Asian
knees.