Arthroscopic debridement of unicompartmental arthritis: fact or fiction?

Arthroscopic Debridement and Lavage for Osteoarthritis of the Knee: Results From a Low-Resource Setting

Introduction Osteoarthritis of the knee is a highly prevalent disease globally, causing strain on healthcare resources and leading to a reduced quality of life. There are many treatments proposed for this condition, from conservative measures like analgesics and physiotherapy to surgical options like arthroscopy and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Arthroscopic debridement and lavage provide significant improvement in a cohort of patients with particular features and can be a temporizing measure before TKA. This study aimed to investigate the results of this procedure, in a case series in the short-term and mid-term, in a low-resource setting. Methods This was a case series of 20 patients, who presented with clinical and radiographic features of mild to moderate (Kellgren-Lawrence grades I-III) primary osteoarthritis of the knee. Arthroscopic debridement and lavage were performed and the Knee Society Score (KSS) was recorded pre-operatively and post-operatively in the short and mid-term at one month, three months, and twelve months. Statistical analyses was done for correlation, with different variables such as the presence of meniscal pathology, loose bodies, grade of osteoarthritis, malalignment, and body mass index (BMI). Results  The KSS improved at one month, three months, and twelve months for all the patients. The improvement in the KSS scores was associated with varus malalignment of less than 10 degrees, a BMI of less than 25, and the presence of loose bodies. There were no adverse events or complications from this study. Conclusions  There was a significant improvement in a patient cohort with malalignment of less than 10 degrees, BMI of less than 25, meniscal pathology, and loose bodies. We can therefore recommend arthroscopic debridement and lavage as a temporizing measure before TKA in this particular cohort.

Concentration of Chondrogenic Soluble Factors in Freshly Harvested Lipoaspirate

BACKGROUND

Cartilage tissue has a limited capacity for healing with the consequence that patients are often treated symptomatically until they become candidates for osteotomy or total joint replacement. Alternative biological therapies, for example, application of platelet-rich plasma and implantation of chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells, have emerged as a new treatment modality to repair articular cartilage. In addition, autologous fat transfer is performed for treatment of cartilage defects, example given, in osteoarthrosis, but several questions regarding basic biochemical properties of the transplant remain unanswered. Bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), and chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) have been shown to be involved in chondrogenic regeneration and represent potential therapeutic agents for cartilage repair. However, no study regarding naturally occurring levels of these soluble factors in transplanted adipose tissue has yet been performed.

METHODS

To investigate the influence of age, body mass index, donor site, and sex on the concentration of BMP4, MMP-8, COMP, and CHI3L1 in freshly aspirated adipose tissue, their content was measured by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay readings.

RESULTS

There were significant quantities of BMP4, MMP-8, COMP, and CHI3L1 (23.6, 249.9, 298.0, and 540.6 pg/mg, respectively) in the lipoaspirate harvested for transplantation. There was no correlation between the content of soluble factors and the patients' age or body mass index. Furthermore, the sex did not affect the amount of the investigated factors. However, there were significantly lower contents of BMP4, COMP, and CHI3L1 found in lipoaspirates harvested from the abdomen compared with nonabdominal donor sites.

CONCLUSIONS

Naturally occurring differences in the concentrations of the investigated soluble factors will favor certain donor sites for autologous fat transfer in the field of cartilage repair. Thus, increasing knowledge will enable researchers and clinicians to make autologous fat transfer procedures more reliable and efficient for treatment of articular cartilage defects.

Rationale and pre-clinical evidences for the use of autologous cartilage micrografts in cartilage repair

BACKGROUND

The management of cartilage lesions is an open issue in clinical practice, and regenerative medicine represents a promising approach, including the use of autologous micrografts whose efficacy was already tested in different clinical settings. The aim of this study was to characterize in vitro the effect of autologous cartilage micrografts on chondrocyte viability and differentiation and perform an evaluation of their application in racehorses affected by joint diseases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Matched human chondrocytes and micrografts were obtained from articular cartilage using Rigenera® procedure. Chondrocytes were cultured in the presence or absence of micrografts and chondrogenic medium to assess cell viability and cell differentiation. For the pre-clinical evaluation, three racehorses affected by joint diseases were treated with a suspension of autologous micrografts and PRP in arthroscopy interventions. Clinical and radiographic follow-ups were performed up to 4 months after the procedure.

RESULTS

Autologous micrografts support the formation of chondrogenic micromasses thanks to their content of matrix and growth factors, such as transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). On the other hand, no significant differences were observed on the gene expression of type II collagen, aggrecan, and SOX9. Preliminary data in the treatment of racehorses are suggestive of a potential in vivo use of micrografts to treat cartilage lesions.

CONCLUSION

The results reported in this study showed the role of articular micrografts in the promoting chondrocyte differentiation suggesting their potential use in the clinical practice to treat articular lesions.

The use of mesenchymal stem cells for cartilage repair and regeneration: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The management of articular cartilage defects presents many clinical challenges due to its avascular, aneural and alymphatic nature. Bone marrow stimulation techniques, such as microfracture, are the most frequently used method in clinical practice however the resulting mixed fibrocartilage tissue which is inferior to native hyaline cartilage. Other methods have shown promise but are far from perfect. There is an unmet need and growing interest in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering to improve the outcome for patients requiring cartilage repair. Many published reviews on cartilage repair only list human clinical trials, underestimating the wealth of basic sciences and animal studies that are precursors to future research. We therefore set out to perform a systematic review of the literature to assess the translation of stem cell therapy to explore what research had been carried out at each of the stages of translation from bench-top (in vitro), animal (pre-clinical) and human studies (clinical) and assemble an evidence-based cascade for the responsible introduction of stem cell therapy for cartilage defects. This review was conducted in accordance to PRISMA guidelines using CINHAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus and Web of Knowledge databases from 1st January 1900 to 30th June 2015. In total, there were 2880 studies identified of which 252 studies were included for analysis (100 articles for in vitro studies, 111 studies for animal studies; and 31 studies for human studies). There was a huge variance in cell source in pre-clinical studies both of terms of animal used, location of harvest (fat, marrow, blood or synovium) and allogeneicity. The use of scaffolds, growth factors, number of cell passages and number of cells used was hugely heterogeneous.

SHORT CONCLUSIONS

This review offers a comprehensive assessment of the evidence behind the translation of basic science to the clinical practice of cartilage repair. It has revealed a lack of connectivity between the in vitro, pre-clinical and human data and a patchwork quilt of synergistic evidence. Drivers for progress in this space are largely driven by patient demand, surgeon inquisition and a regulatory framework that is learning at the same pace as new developments take place.

Advances and Prospects in Stem Cells for Cartilage Regeneration

The histological features of cartilage call attention to the fact that cartilage has a little capacity to repair itself owing to the lack of a blood supply, nerves, or lymphangion. Stem cells have emerged as a promising option in the field of cartilage tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and could lead to cartilage repair. Much research has examined cartilage regeneration utilizing stem cells. However, both the potential and the limitations of this procedure remain controversial. This review presents a summary of emerging trends with regard to using stem cells in cartilage tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. In particular, it focuses on the characterization of cartilage stem cells, the chondrogenic differentiation of stem cells, and the various strategies and approaches involving stem cells that have been used in cartilage repair and clinical studies. Based on the research into chondrocyte and stem cell technologies, this review discusses the damage and repair of cartilage and the clinical application of stem cells, with a view to increasing our systematic understanding of the application of stem cells in cartilage regeneration; additionally, several advanced strategies for cartilage repair are discussed.

Mesenchymal stem cell implantation in knee osteoarthritis: an assessment of the factors influencing clinical outcomes

BACKGROUND

Several clinical studies have reported on cell-based treatment using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for cartilage regeneration in knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, little is known about the factors that influence the clinical outcomes after surgery.

PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS

This study aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of MSC implantation in patients with knee OA and assess the factors that are associated with clinical outcomes. The hypothesis was that factors may exist that could influence clinical outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

METHODS

A total of 49 patients (55 knees) were retrospectively evaluated after MSC implantation for knee OA. The inclusion criteria were patients who had an isolated full-thickness cartilage lesion and Kellgren-Lawrence OA grade 1 or 2. Clinical outcomes were measured with the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, Tegner activity score, and patients' overall satisfaction with the surgery. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the effect of different factors on the clinical outcome.

RESULTS

The mean pre- and postoperative IKDC and Tegner activity scores significantly improved from 37.7 ± 6.3 to 67.3 ± 9.5 (IKDC) and from 2.2 ± 0.7 to 3.8 ± 0.7 (Tegner) (P < .001 for both). Twenty-four patients reported their overall satisfaction with the surgery as excellent (43.6%), 17 as good (30.9%), 11 as fair (20.0%), and 3 as poor (5.5%). There were significant differences in clinical outcomes at the final follow-up among the age and lesion size groups (P < .05 for all). Multivariate analyses showed high prognostic significance related to patient age and lesion size, and scatter plots suggested a cutoff age of 60 years and a cutoff lesion size of 6.0 cm(2) for the optimum identification of poor clinical outcomes (P < .05 for both).

CONCLUSION

The clinical outcomes of MSC implantation for knee OA are encouraging. Patient age and lesion size are important factors that affect clinical outcomes; thus, these may serve as a basis for preoperative surgical decisions. Cutoff points exist for the risk of clinical failure in patients older than 60 years and those with a lesion size larger than 6.0 cm(2).