METHODS: From April 2014 to December 2015, a total of 72 knees in 64 patients that underwent OWHTO, second-look arthroscopy, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessment, were enrolled. Preoperative and postoperative coronal and sagittal translation, joint line orientation angle, the distance between medial femoral notch marginal line and medial tibial spine, and PTS were evaluated. ACL status was arthroscopically graded from grade 1 (best) to 4 (worst). The MRI signal of the graft in three portions (proximal, middle, and distal) was graded from grade 1 (best) to 4 (worst).
RESULTS: High grade (3: partial, and 4: complete rupture) was noted in 28 cases (38.9%) at the second-look arthroscopy compared with 10 cases (13.9%) at index arthroscopy. The MRI signal grade significantly increased at follow up MRI compared with preoperative MRI (P<0.01). An increased signal was commonly noted in the middle and distal portions of the graft.
CONCLUSIONS: Geometric changes after OWHTO were related to ACL deterioration. The ACL was commonly affected at the middle and distal portions and rarely at the proximal portion. There is a possibility of impingement because of the geometric changes.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV.
METHODS: This prospective comparative study was conducted from 2009 to 2012. Patients with ACL injuries who underwent knee arthroscopy and MRI were included in the study. Two radiologists who were blinded to the clinical history and arthroscopic findings reviewed the pre-arthroscopic MR images. The presence and type of meniscal tears on MRI and arthroscopy were recorded. Arthroscopic findings were used as the reference standard. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), and positive predictive value (PPV) of MRI in the evaluation of meniscal tears were calculated.
RESULTS: A total of 65 patients (66 knees) were included. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV, and NPV for the MRI diagnosis of lateral meniscal tears in our patients were 83, 97, 92, 96, and 90 %, respectively, whereas those for medial meniscus tears were 82, 92, 88, 82, and 88 %, respectively. There were five false-negative diagnoses of medial meniscus tears and four false-negative diagnoses of lateral meniscus tears. The majority of missed meniscus tears on MRI affected the peripheral posterior horns.
CONCLUSION: The sensitivity for diagnosing a meniscal tear was significantly higher when the tear involved more than one-third of the meniscus or the anterior horn. The sensitivity was significantly lower for tears located in the posterior horn and for vertically oriented tears. Therefore, special attention should be given to the peripheral posterior horns of the meniscus, which are common sites of injury that could be easily missed on MRI. The high NPVs obtained in this study suggest that MRI is a valuable tool prior to arthroscopy.
Design: Anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) was performed to induce OA in thirty-three male New Zealand white rabbits and were randomly divided into three groups: Channa, glucosamine, and control group. The control group received drinking water and the Channa and glucosamine groups were orally administered with 51.4 mg/kg of Channa extract and 77.5 mg/kg of glucosamine sulphate in drinking water, respectively, for eight weeks and then sacrificed. The articular cartilage was evaluated macroscopically and histologically using semiquantitative and quantitative methods. Serum cartilage oligomeric matric protein (COMP), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) enzyme, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were also determined.
Results: Macroscopic analysis revealed that Channa group have a significantly lower severity grade of total macroscopic score compared to the control (p < 0.001) and glucosamine (p < 0.05) groups. Semiquantitative histology scoring showed that both Channa and glucosamine groups had lower severity grading of total histology score compared to the control group (p < 0.001). In comparison with the control, Channa group had lower histopathological changes in three compartments of the joint compared to glucosamine group which had lower histological scoring in two compartments only. The cartilage thickness, area, and roughness of both Channa (p < 0.05) and glucosamine (p < 0.05) groups were superior compared to the control group. However, the Channa group demonstrated significantly less cartilage roughness compared to the glucosamine group (p < 0.05). Serum COMP levels were lower in both Channa (p < 0.05) and glucosamine (p < 0.05) groups compared to the control group.
Conclusion: Both oral administration of Channa extract and glucosamine exhibited chondroprotective action on an ACLT OA-induced rabbit model. However, Channa was superior to glucosamine in maintaining the structure of the cartilage.
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: In this study, we developed a silk scaffold with increased stiffness and SDF-1 controlled release capacity for ligament repair. This advanced scaffold transplantation combined with intra-articular injection of LSPCs (which was isolated from rabbit ligament for the first time in this study) promoted the regeneration of both the tendinous and bone tunnel portion of ACL. This therapeutic strategy also ameliorated cartilage degeneration and reduced the severity of arthrofibrosis. Hence, combining LSPCs injection with SDF-1-releasing silk scaffold is demonstrated as a therapeutic strategy for ACL regeneration and OA treatment in the clinic.