The articular and growth plate cartilages of osteochondrotic pigs were examined and compared with those from clinically normal animals. Both types of osteochondrotic cartilage showed considerable localised thickening apparently due to a lack of ossification. Histological examination of cartilage lesions demonstrated a breakdown in the normal pattern of chondrocyte maturation. Articular cartilag...

BACKGROUND Spontaneous recovery from articular cartilage injury is difficult, and the ongoing progression of disease can eventually lead to osteoarthritis. Currently, there is no effective non-surgical treatment for articular cartilage injury. Arthroscopic debridement and microfracture surgery are performed for fibrocartilage repair. But fibrocartilage is different from normal articular cartila...

INTRODUCTION The collagen structure in the superficial zone of articular cartilage is critical to the tissue's durability. Early osteoarthritis is often characterized with fissures on the articular surface. This is closely related to the disruption of the collagen network. However, the traditional histology can not offer visualization of the collagen structure in articular cartilage because it ...

BACKGROUND Cartilage grafting is a useful technique in nasal reconstruction. Implantation of a whole graft is usually done through an incision. Crushed cartilage can also be used. Injection of cartilage could be an alternative to implantation. The objective of this study is to compare the long-term viability of percutaneously injected crushed auricular cartilage to surgically implanted cartilag...

OBJECTIVES There have been no reported studies of the association between parity and cartilage in young individuals. The aim of this study was to describe the association between parity, cartilage volume and cartilage defects in women aged 31-41 years. METHODS Cross-sectional study of 144 women, mean age 36 years and BMI 25 kg/m(2), who were participants in an established prospective study. P...

OBJECTIVES Cartilage defects are present in subjects with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Although they are often present in healthy subjects, there is little data on the natural history of cartilage defects. The aim of this study was to examine the change in cartilage defects over 2 yr and to identify factors associated with this change. METHODS One hundred and twenty-four healthy subjects underwe...

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common, degenerative joint disease characterized by articular cartilage degradation. Currently, clinical trials based on microRNA therapy have been performed to treat various diseases. However, no treatment has been found for arthritis. This study investigated the functions of miR-101 in cartilage degradation in vivo and evaluated the feasibility of using miR-101 as a t...

Articular cartilage is characterized by its poor capacity for self-repair. Once articular cartilage is injured and defected, it cannot be spontaneously repaired and finally develops osteoarthritis (OA). OA is a major leading cause of severe activity limitations and disability, resulting in worldwide socio-economical burden. At present, there is no established therapy for adequate repair of dama...

Synovial fluid plays an important role in lubricating synovial joints. Its main constituents are hyaluronic acid (HA) and γ-globulin, acting as boundary lubricants for articular cartilage. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the concentration-dependent effect of HA and γ-globulin on the boundary-lubricating ability of human osteoarthritis (OA) cartilage. Normal, early and advance stage arti...

The articular cartilage, which lines the joints of the limb skeleton, is distinct from the adjoining transient cartilage, and yet, it differentiates as a unique population within a contiguous cartilage element. Current literature suggests that articular cartilage and transient cartilage originate from different cell populations. Using a combination of lineage tracing and pulse-chase of actively...