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Objective: The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between osteoarthritis (OA) and joint symptoms typical of OA and labor force participation., Methods: Data are from the baseline questionnaire of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging for respondents aged 45 to 74 years at baseline (n = 24,427). Individuals were categorized into one of five mutually exclusive arthritis status groups: diagnosed OA, diagnosed other type of arthritis, two to three symptomatic joint sites and no diagnosed arthritis, one symptomatic joint site and no diagnosed arthritis, and no arthritis and no joint symptoms. Age-stratified robust log-Poisson regression analysis was used to examine the association between arthritis status and labor force participation., Results: Overall, 39% of the analytic sample reported being out of the labor force. Those with OA aged 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 years were significantly more likely to be out of the labor force than those with no arthritis or no joint symptoms, with prevalence ratios (PRs) of 1.34 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10-1.65) and 1.13 (95% CI 1.06-1.21), respectively, with similar results for those with two to three joint symptoms and no OA in the 45 to 54 years age group (PR 1.37 [95% CI 1.07-1.76]). There was no difference for those aged 65 to 74 years. Being an informal caregiver increased the likelihood of nonparticipation in the labor force for those aged 55 to 64 years (PR 1.09 [95% CI 1.04-1.15])., Conclusion: Our results suggest that an exclusive reliance on an OA diagnosis to understand impact on labor force participation may miss a large segment of the middle-aged population, which may have undiagnosed OA or be at greater risk of OA because of joint problems., (© 2024 The Author(s). Arthritis Care & Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Rheumatology.)

Osteoarthritis is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in geriatric gazelles. Propionibacterium australiense has been reported as a cause of systemic granulomas in cattle, but there are no descriptions of this bacteria infecting other species nor causing osteoarthritis, to our knowledge. An 8-y-old, castrated male, sand gazelle ( Gazella leptoceros leptoceros ) was managed for chronic, intermittent, progressive osteoarthritis of the right tarsus. Serial biopsies revealed pyogranulomatous dermatitis with intralesional bacteria. Serial diagnostic imaging identified osseous and soft tissue proliferation with draining tracts. Treatments over 1 y included broad-spectrum antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, joint debridement, and infusion with platelet-rich plasma and stem cells. Despite therapy, lameness persisted, azotemia developed, and subsequently, the animal was euthanized. On postmortem examination, the periarticular tissue of the right tarsus was markedly expanded by pyogranulomas and fibrosis. Histologically, the synovium, joint capsule, and overlying soft tissues were markedly expanded by pyogranulomas and numerous gram-positive and acid-fast-negative filamentous bacteria surrounded by Splendore-Hoeppli material. Within the joint, there was regionally extensive cartilage ulceration, osteonecrosis, osteolysis, and pannus formation. PCR assay of affected formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue amplified segments of 16S rRNA and β subunit of bacterial RNA polymerase ( rpoB ) genes with 99.7% and 95.6% identity to P. australiense . This bacterium should be considered a differential for chronic pyogranulomatous osteoarthritis in gazelles., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

This metaresearch study aimed to evaluate the completeness of reporting of prediction model studies in patients with spinal pain or osteoarthritis (OA) in terms of adherence to the transparent reporting of a multivariable prediction model for individual prognosis or diagnosis (TRIPOD) statement. We searched for prognostic and diagnostic prediction models in patients with spinal pain or OA in MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL. Using a standardized assessment form, we assessed the adherence to the TRIPOD of the included studies. Two independent reviewers performed the study selection and data extraction phases. We included 66 studies. Approximately 35% of the studies declared to have used the TRIPOD. The median adherence to the TRIPOD was 59% overall (interquartile range (IQR): 21.8), with the items of the methods and results sections having the worst reporting. Studies on neck pain had better adherence to the TRIPOD than studies on back pain and OA (medians of 76.5%, 59%, and 53%, respectively). External validation studies had the highest total adherence (median: 79.5%, IQR: 12.8) of all the study types. The median overall adherence was 4 points higher in studies that declared TRIPOD use than those that did not. Finally, we did not observe any improvement in adherence over the years. The adherence to the TRIPOD of prediction models in the spinal and OA fields is low, with the methods and results sections being the most poorly reported. Future studies on prediction models in spinal pain and OA should follow the TRIPOD to improve their reporting completeness. PERSPECTIVE: This article provides data about adherence to the TRIPOD statement in 66 prediction model studies for spinal pain or OA. The adherence to the TRIPOD statement was found to be low (median adherence of 59%). This inadequate reporting may negatively impact the effective use of the models in clinical practice., (Copyright © 2024 United States Association for the Study of Pain, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study aims to investigate how arthritis, including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, affects the incidence of nocturia in adults aged 20-59., Methods: This study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005 to 2020, involving 18 745 adults aged 20-59. Arthritis, including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, was considered as the exposure factor, with nocturia as the outcome variable. We first compared the baseline characteristics of individuals with and without nocturia. The impact of arthritis on nocturia was assessed using weighted multivariate logistic regression models. To ensure the stability of the results, propensity score matching analysis and subgroup analyses were conducted., Results: The incidence of nocturia was approximately 22.31%, and the incidence of arthritis was about 15.32% (2871/18 745), with osteoarthritis accounting for 35.49% (1019/2871) and rheumatoid arthritis accounting for 20.20% (580/2871). Adjusted multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the risk of nocturia was increased by arthritis (odds ratio [OR] = 1.45, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.28-1.65, p < 0.0001), including osteoarthritis (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.18-1.78, p < 0.001) and rheumatoid arthritis (OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.14-2.00, p = 0.004). After propensity score matching using nearest neighbor methods at a 1:1 ratio, this relationship still exists. Subgroup analyses showed no significant differences in the interactions between arthritis and the risk of nocturia across various factors, such as age, family income to poverty ratio, education level, body mass index, smoking status, hypertension, and diabetes. However, significant differences were observed across different sex groups and sleep trouble groups., Conclusions: This study revealed that arthritis, including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, increased the risk of nocturia in adults under the age of 60., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease is a consequence of the immune response to the pathological presence of calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystals inside joints, which causes acute or chronic inflammatory arthritis. CPPD is strongly associated with cartilage degradation and osteoarthritis, although the direction of causality is unclear. This clinical presentation is called CPPD with osteoarthritis. Although direct evidence is scarce, CPPD disease might be the most common cause of inflammatory arthritis in older people (aged >60 years). CPPD is caused by elevated extracellular-pyrophosphate concentrations in the cartilage and causes inflammation by activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Common risk factors for CPPD disease include ageing and previous joint injury. It is uncommonly associated with metabolic conditions (eg, hyperparathyroidism, haemochromatosis, hypomagnesaemia, and hypophosphatasia) and genetic variants (eg, in the ANKH and osteoprotegerin genes). Apart from the detection of CPP crystals in synovial fluid, imaging evidence of CPPD in joints by mainly conventional radiography, and increasingly ultrasonography, has a central role in the diagnosis of CPPD disease. CT is useful in showing calcification in axial joints such as in patients with crowned dens syndrome. To date, no treatment is effective in dissolving CPP crystals, which explains why control of inflammation is currently the main focus of therapeutic strategies. Prednisone might provide the best benefit-risk ratio for the treatment of acute CPP-crystal arthritis, but low-dose colchicine is also effective with a risk of mild diarrhoea. Limited evidence suggests that colchicine, low-dose weekly methotrexate, and hydroxychloroquine might be effective in the prophylaxis of recurrent flares and in the management of persistent CPP-crystal inflammatory arthritis. Additionally, biologics inhibiting IL-1 and IL-6 might have a role in the management of refractory disease., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests TP received consulting fees from Avalo Therapeutics. GF has received a research grant from Lilly. All other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The objective of this study is to develop classification criteria for overall hand osteoarthritis (OA), interphalangeal OA and thumb base OA based on self-reported data and radiographic features., Methods: The classification criteria sets were developed in three phases. In phase 1, we identified criteria that discriminated hand OA from controls. In phase 2, we used a consensus-based decision analysis approach to derive a clinician-based evaluation of the relative importance of the criteria. In phase 3, we refined the scoring system, determined the cut-offs for disease classification and compared the sensitivity and specificity of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) criteria with the 1990 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria., Results: In persons with hand symptoms and no other disease (including psoriasis) or acute injury that can explain the hand symptoms (mandatory criteria), hand OA can be classified based on age, duration of morning stiffness, number of joints with osteophytes and joint space narrowing, and concordance between symptoms and radiographic findings. Using a sum of scores based on each diagnostic element, overall hand OA can be classified if a person achieves 9 or more points on a 0-15 scale. The cut-off for interphalangeal OA and thumb base OA is 8 points. While the EULAR criteria demonstrated better sensitivity than the ACR criteria in the phase 1 data set, the performance of the two criteria sets was similar in two external cohorts., Conclusions: International experts developed the EULAR criteria to classify overall hand OA, interphalangeal OA and thumb base OA in clinical studies using a rigorous methodology., Competing Interests: Competing interests: IKH reports personal fees from Novartis and GSK; research grants from Pfizer and IMI-APPROACH (both paid to the institution); and unpaid role as secretary general of OARSI, all outside of the submitted work. AA reports institutional research grants from AstraZeneca and Oxford Immunotech; and personal fees from UpToDate (royalty), Springer (royalty), Cadilla Pharmaceuticals (lecture fees), NGM Bio (consulting), Limbic (consulting) and Inflazome (consulting), all outside of the submitted work. FB reports shares of 4P Pharma and 4Moving Biotech; personal fees from Boehringer Ingelgeim, Galapagos, Gilead, GSK, Merck Sereno, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, Servier and Viatris; and research grant from TRB Chemedica, all outside the submitted work.Sita Bierma-Zeinstra reports research grants from Dutch Arthritis Association, EU Horizon, EU ERC and ZonMW (paid to institution), personal fees from Pfizer, Infirst healthcare, and paid role as deputy editor of Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, all outside of the submitted work.Krysia Dziedzic reports research grants from National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR); royalty/licence for Textbook for Rheumatology Therapists; payment for lecture at Australian Rheumatology Association Conference in May 2022; Implementation Advisor Fellows and Scholars Programme National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (UK 2019-22), Steering group member of NICE Implementation subgroup and Steering group member of OARSI Joint Effort initiative, all paid to institution and outside of the submitted work.Martin Englund reports personal fees from Cellcolabs AB (Sweden) and Key2 Compliance (Sweden), outside of the submitted work. Ying Ying Leung reports grants from National Medical Research Council (NMRC/CSA-INV/0022/2017), and personal fees from AbbVie, DKSH, Janssen, Novartis and Pfizer, outside of the submitted work. EM reports personal fees from Expanscience, Keyrus Life Science, Pierre Fabre, Rottapharm, MEDA-Mylan, Sublimed, TRB Chemedica, outside the submitted work. RR reports personal fees from from Novartis, AbbVie, Pfizer, MSD, Janssen, Lilly; support for attending EULAR, ACR and SIR; advisory board for Janssen, Novartis and Abbvie, outside of the submitted work. TAS reports grants and personal fees from AbbVie and Roche, and personal fees from Sanofi, Takeda and Novartis, outside the submitted work. ZS reports personal fees from AbbVie, Pfizer, Roche, Novartis, Lilly, Gedeon Richter, Sobi/Galapagos, outside of the submitted work. RW reports institutional research grants from Pfizer and Amgen, unrelated to this work, and is a Senior Clinical Investigator of the Research Foundation Flanders (Belgium) (FWO) (1803023N). MK reports consulting fees from Abbvie, Pfizer, Kiniksa, Flexion, Galapagos, Jansen, CHDR, Novartis and UCB (all paid to institution), outside of the submitted work. DF, JJE, MH-E, GH-B, CH, MLI, HJ, TK, CDM, MM, RHM, VR, MJPFR, FVG, LAS, CM, EG and HL report no conflicts of interest., (© European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology, EULAR 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC-ND. No commercial re-use. No derivatives. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ on behalf of EULAR.)

Surface-electromyography (sEMG) allows investigators to detect differences in muscle activation due to hand pathologies. However, its use as a functional indicator and the challenges related to the required normalization have not been fully addressed. This study aimed to use forearm muscle sEMG signals to distinguish between healthy individuals and patients with hand osteoarthritis (HOA). sEMG data were collected from seven sensors on the forearms of twenty-one healthy women and twenty women with HOA during the Sollerman test. Amplitude-based parameters (median and range) were normalized using three methods: maximum signals during Sollerman tasks (MAX), during maximum voluntary contraction tasks (MVC), and during maximum effort grasping (GRASP). Waveform parameters (new-zero-crossing and enhanced-wavelength) were also considered. MVC and GRASP resulted in higher values in patients. Discriminant analysis showed the worst success rates in predicting HOA for amplitude-based parameters, requiring extra tasks for normalization (MVC or GRASP), while when using both amplitude (MAX) and waveform parameters and only Sollerman tasks, the success rate reached 90.2% Results show the importance of normalization methods, highlight the potential of waveform parameters as reliable pathology indicators, and suggest sEMG as a diagnostic tool. Additionally, the comparison of sEMG parameters allows the functional impact of suffering from HOA to be inferred.

Background: The complete circulating long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) signature of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) is still uncovered. The lncRNA integrin subunit beta 2 (ITGB2)-anti-sense RNA 1 (ITGB2-AS1) affects ITGB2 expression; however, there is a gap in knowledge regarding its expression and clinical usefulness in RA and OA. This study investigated the potential of serum ITGB2-AS1 as a novel diagnostic biomarker and its correlation with ITGB2 expression and its ligand intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), disease activity, and severity in RA and primary knee OA patients., Subjects: Forty-three RA patients, 35 knee OA patients, and 22 healthy volunteers were included., Results: Compared with healthy controls, serum ITGB2-AS1 expression was upregulated in RA patients but wasn't significantly altered in knee OA patients, whereas serum ICAM-1 protein levels were elevated in both diseases. ITGB2-AS1 showed discriminative potential for RA versus controls (AUC = 0.772), while ICAM-1 displayed diagnostic potential for both RA and knee OA versus controls (AUC = 0.804, 0.914, respectively) in receiver-operating characteristic analysis. In the multivariate analysis, serum ITGB2-AS1 and ICAM-1 were associated with the risk of developing RA, while only ICAM-1 was associated with the risk of developing knee OA. A panel combining ITGB2-AS1 and ICAM-1 showed profound diagnostic power for RA (AUC = 0.9, sensitivity = 86.05%, and specificity = 91.67%). Interestingly, serum ITGB2-AS1 positively correlated with disease activity (DAS28) in RA patients and with ITGB2 mRNA expression in both diseases, while ICAM-1 positively correlated with ITGB2 expression in knee OA patients., Conclusion: Our study portrays serum ITGB2-AS1 as a novel potential diagnostic biomarker of RA that correlates with disease activity. A predictive panel combining ITGB2-AS1 and ICAM-1 could have clinical utility in RA diagnosis. We also spotlight the association of ICAM-1 with knee OA diagnosis. The correlation of serum ITGB2-AS1 with ITGB2 expression in both diseases may be insightful for further mechanistic studies., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: This study aimed to identify and describe links between pain medication use and self-reported pain among people aged ≥ 50 years with osteoarthritis (OA) in an Irish population, and to examine the relationships between pain, medication usage and socioeconomic and clinical characteristics., Methods: Secondary data analysis of wave 1 cross-sectional data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) was undertaken of 1042 people with self-reported doctor-diagnosed OA. We examined use of medications typically included in OA clinical guidelines, including non-opioid analgesics (e.g. paracetamol), topical and oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioids and nutraceuticals. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was used to identify underlying clinical subgroups based on medication usage patterns, and self-reported pain severity. Multinomial logistic regression was used to explore sociodemographic and clinical characteristic links to latent class membership., Results: A total of 358 (34.4%) of the 1042 people in this analysis were taking pain medications including oral NSAIDs (17.5%), analgesics (11.4%) and opioids (8.7%). Nutraceutical (glucosamine/chondroitin) use was reported by 8.6% and topical NSAID use reported by 1.4%. Three latent classes were identified: (1) Low medication use/no pain (n = 382, 37%), (2) low medication use/moderate pain (n = 523, 50%) and (3) moderate medication use/high pain (n = 137, 13%). Poorer self-rated health and greater sleep disturbance were associated with classes 2 and 3; depressive symptoms and female gender were associated with class 2, and retirement associated with class 3., Conclusions: Whilst pain medication use varied with pain severity, different medication types reported broadly aligned with OA guidelines. The two subgroups exhibiting higher pain levels demonstrated poorer self-rated health and greater sleep disturbance., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Family physicians are well-positioned to provide injections for patients who have pain due to hand and finger conditions, especially when initial treatments such as splinting and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are ineffective. Corticosteroid injections can offer pain relief; however, potential risks such as infection, cartilage damage, and skin depigmentation should be discussed. Techniques and procedures for injections vary. Corticosteroid injections for ste-nosing flexor tenosynovitis (trigger finger) can be performed with or without ultrasound guidance. To maximize benefits of corticosteroid injection for carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis, topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and other conservative treatment modalities should be used concurrently. Because of the risks of disease recurrence and adverse effects, corticosteroid injections for palmar fibromatosis should be approached with caution in the context of shared decision-making.

Background: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS), Osteoarthritis (OA), and Sjögren's syndrome (SS) are three prevalent autoimmune diseases. If left untreated, which can lead to severe joint damage and greatly limit mobility. Once the disease worsens, patients may face the risk of long-term disability, and in severe cases, even life-threatening consequences., Result: In this study, the Raman spectral data of AS, OA, and SS are analyzed to auxiliary disease diagnosis. For the first time, the Euclidean distance(ED) upscaling technique was used for the conversation from one-dimensional(1D) disease spectral data to two-dimensional(2D) spectral images. A dual-attention mechanism network was then constructed to analyze these two-dimensional spectral maps for disease diagnosis. The results demonstrate that the dual-attention mechanism network achieves a diagnostic accuracy of 100 % when analyzing 2D ED spectrograms. Furthermore, a comparison and analysis with s-transforms(ST), short-time fourier transforms(STFT), recurrence maps(RP), markov transform field(MTF), and Gramian angle fields(GAF) highlight the significant advantage of the proposed method, as it significantly shortens the conversion time while supporting disease-assisted diagnosis. Mutual information(MI) was utilized for the first time to validate the 2D Raman spectrograms generated, including ED, ST, STFT, RP, MTF, and GAF spectrograms. This allowed for evaluation of the similarity between the original 1D spectral data and the generated 2D spectrograms., Significant: The results indicate that utilizing ED to transform 1D spectral data into 2D images, coupled with the application of convolutional neural network(CNN) for analyzing 2D ED Raman spectrograms, holds great promise as a valuable tool in assisting disease diagnosis. The research demonstrated that the 2D spectrogram created with ED closely resembles the original 1D spectral data. This indicates that ED effectively captures key features and important information from the original data, providing a strong descript., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All the authors declare that there is no potential conflict of interest referring to this article., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objective: Limited data exist on the natural history of shoulder symptoms. We aimed to describe longitudinal patterns of shoulder symptoms and determine risk factors for incidence and persistence., Methods: Data from Osteoarthritis Initiative participants observed annually for four years were used to describe shoulder symptom (yes/no, side) incidence and prevalence using descriptive analyses. Regression analyses investigated the association among three shoulder symptoms outcomes (persistent, incident, and intermittent) and clinical factors. Latent class growth analysis (LCGA) identified trajectories in those reporting pain at one or more time point., Results: In total, 4,796 participants (58% women, mean age 61.2 years) were included. Baseline shoulder symptom prevalence was 22%; 32% of these reported bilateral symptoms. In those reporting right symptoms, 260 of 1,886 (14%) had persistent symptoms. Those with persistent symptoms had worse baseline and four-year clinical status (poorer function, mental health, and quality of life). In regression analysis, persistent symptoms were associated with sleep disturbance (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.97, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.49-2.62), work absenteeism (aOR 2.16, 95% CI 1.38-2.62), lower limb weakness (aOR 1.76, 95% CI 1.37-2.27), multiple-site joint symptoms (≥3 joints excluding shoulders) (aOR 4.90, 95% CI 2.79-8.58) and White race (aOR 1.39, 95% CI 1.04-1.88). Lower limb weakness was also associated with incident symptoms; no variables were associated with intermittent symptoms. LCGA identified two trajectories: the trajectory with high probability for symptoms (9% of LCGA analysis cohort) showed similar relationships to clinical variables as in the persistent symptoms group., Conclusion: In this large, four-year study, persistent shoulder symptoms were common and associated with worse clinical outcomes. At least one risk factor for incident symptoms is modifiable., (© 2024 The Author(s). Arthritis Care & Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Rheumatology.)

Objective: To assess whether patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) improve after autologous conditioned serum (ACS) administration in patients with osteoarthritis., Methods: Databases and clinical trial registers were searched to March 2024 for randomised controlled trial (RCTs) comparing ACS vs comparators/controls. Primary outcomes were pain, function and stiffness measured with Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and visual analogue scale (VAS). Secondary outcome was complications. Risk of bias (RoB) and certainty of evidence were assessed using RoB 2 and the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation Working Group (GRADE) respectively. Meta-analysis was undertaken using RevMan v5.4. Results are presented as standardised mean differences (SMD) or mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Sensitivity analysis compared all comparators and saline control., Results: Five RCTs were identified (n = 741 participants); two (n = 529 participants) compared ACS against saline (placebo). Three studies were "some concern" and two studies "high risk" for bias. Analysis comparing ACS with all comparators significantly favoured ACS at 6 months for WOMAC: SMD -0.61 (95% CI -1.01 to -0.21; p = 0.003); and VAS: SMD -1.24 (95% CI -2.11 to -0.38; p = 0.005); with high heterogeneity. Comparing ACS with saline, there was no significant difference in WOMAC or VAS at 6 months: SMD -0.40 (95% CI -0.93 to 0.12; p = 0.13) and MD -9.87 (95% CI -27.73 to 7.98, p = 0.28). Complications were similar: ACS (24.8%) vs saline (24.4%), with serious complications rare., Conclusion: There is currently insufficient data to support the use of ACS in osteoarthritis with conflicting results when compared to alternative therapies and saline control, with high heterogeneity. Before consideration as a potential treatment, a high-quality multicentre RCT is required to assess the efficacy of ACS., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis early in patients presenting with pain of hand joints facilitates a fast initiation of effective treatment and, in general, with better results than late initiation of treatment. The diagnosis is based on specific pattern recognition and makes distinguishing with osteoarthritis without laboratory testing or imagine studies possible. These 3 cases of patients presenting with joint pain of the hands show this clinical diagnostic process in detail. Patient history taking in which inflammatory and specific joint distributions guides a first impression toward the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. However, the recognition of arthritis is based on detecting synovial swelling of the joint on physical examination. Suspicion of arthritis warrants referral to a rheumatologic center as specific treatment with disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs are available. Treatment of patients with osteoarthritis can be managed by general practitioners and includes exercises, self-management, splinting and using pain medication.

The susceptibility modules and characteristic genes of patients with osteoarthritis (OA) were determined by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and the role of immune cells in OA related microenvironment was analyzed. GSE98918 and GSE117999 data sets are from GEO database. R language was used to conduct difference analysis for the new data set after merging. The formation of gene co-expression network, screening of susceptibility modules and screening of core genes are all through WGCNA. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were used for Hub genes. The characteristic genes of the disease were obtained by Lasso regression screening. SSGSEA was used to estimate immune cell abundance in sample and a series of correlation analyses were performed. WGCNA was used to form 6 gene co-expression modules. The yellow-green module is identified as the susceptible module of OA. 202 genes were identified as core genes. Finally, RHOT2, FNBP4 and NARF were identified as the characteristic genes of OA. The results showed that the characteristic genes of OA were positively correlated with plasmacytoid dendritic cells, NKT cells and immature dendritic cells, but negatively correlated with active B cells. MDSC were the most abundant immune cells in cartilage. This study identified the Hippo signaling pathway, mTOR signaling pathway, and three characteristic genes (RHOT2, FNBP4, NARF) as being associated with osteoarthritis (OA). These three genes are downregulated in the cartilage of OA patients and may serve as biomarkers for early diagnosis and targeted therapy. Proper regulation of immune cells may aid in the treatment of OA. Future research should focus on developing tools to detect these genes and exploring their therapeutic applications.

The role of mitochondria in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA) is significant. In this study, we aimed to identify diagnostic signature genes associated with OA from a set of mitochondria-related genes (MRGs). First, the gene expression profiles of OA cartilage GSE114007 and GSE57218 were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus. And the limma method was used to detect differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Second, the biological functions of the DEGs in OA were investigated using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis. Wayne plots were employed to visualize the differentially expressed mitochondrial genes (MDEGs) in OA. Subsequently, the LASSO and SVM-RFE algorithms were employed to elucidate potential OA signature genes within the set of MDEGs. As a result, GRPEL and MTFP1 were identified as signature genes. Notably, GRPEL1 exhibited low expression levels in OA samples from both experimental and test group datasets, demonstrating high diagnostic efficacy. Furthermore, RT-qPCR analysis confirmed the reduced expression of Grpel1 in an in vitro OA model. Lastly, ssGSEA analysis revealed alterations in the infiltration abundance of several immune cells in OA cartilage tissue, which exhibited correlation with GRPEL1 expression. Altogether, this study has revealed that GRPEL1 functions as a novel and significant diagnostic indicator for OA by employing two machine learning methodologies. Furthermore, these findings provide fresh perspectives on potential targeted therapeutic interventions in the future., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2024 Wang et al.)

Objective: To provide some clarity to the confusion in the terminology used to classify arthroscopic procedures for the treatment of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) internal derangement (ID) and osteoarthrosis (OA)., Material and Methods: The author introduces a new method for categorizing TMJ arthroscopic procedures more accurately, intending to establish a reference point from which further clinical series may built their analyses., Results: Six categories are proposed for establishing a clear distinction among performed arthroscopic procedures: Level Ia, arthroscopic lavage (AL); Level Ib, arthroscopic lysis and lavage (ALL); Level Ic, ALL "needle-therapy"; Level IIa, simple operative arthroscopy (OA); Level IIb, advanced OA; and Level III, OA with discopexy. Several arthroscopic procedures, such as lysis of adherences, coblation of the retrodiscal tissue, anterior myotomy of the lateral pterigoid muscle, or discopexy, are classified in each category depending on the need (or not) to use of one or two working cannulas., Conclusion: Teaching and training of maxillofacial surgeons in the acquisition of the skills to perform arthroscopy should be based on a step-by-step approach following this proposed classification. Besides, future clinical series on arthroscopy of the TMJ for the treatment of ID and/or osteoarthrosis may benefit from a clear distinction of the performed arthroscopic procedure in terms of evaluating outcomes and complications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The manuscript, or any part of it, has not been submitted or published and will not be submitted elsewhere for publication while being considered by the Journal of Stomatology Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. There is no overlap between this submission and any other material, published or submitted. There are no disclosures about any commercial associations, current and within the past five years, that might pose a potential, perceived or real conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of osteopenia/osteoporosis in patients with bilateral temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ-OA) and its correlations with clinical and radiological findings. A total of 95 patients with bilateral TMJ-OA diagnosed by CBCT were included in the study. Clinical and radiological findings and bone mineral density (BMD) scores were recorded. Descriptive statistics and the Spearman rho correlation tests were performed. Osteopenia/osteoporosis was found in 44 of 95 patients (46.32 %) (30, osteopenia; 14 osteoporosis). Osteopenia/osteoporosis is significantly associated with postmenopausal status and age over 40 years, but it is not associated with clinical and radiological findings of TMJ-OA. Patients with bilateral TMJ-OA have a high prevalence of osteopenia/osteoporosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent joint disorder characterized by cartilage degeneration and joint inflammation. Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), a biophysical process involved in cellular organization, has recently gained attention in OA research. However, the relationship between LLPS and OA remains poorly understood., Methods: We analyzed gene expression data from the GSE48556 dataset to identify LLPS-related genes associated with OA. Differential expression analysis, enrichment analyses, and machine learning algorithms were employed to explore the functional significance of LLPS-related genes in OA and then construct a diagnostic model for OA. In addition, IL-1β as a pro-inflammatory factor to establish an in vitro OA model, and the protein expression levels of OA biomarkers were detected by western blot., Results: A total of 145 LLPS-related genes were screened in OA samples. Enrichment analyses revealed these genes were mainly enriched in mRNA metabolic processes, cytoplasmic granules, and insulin resistance. Four characteristic genes for OA were selected by using machine learning algorithms, including ADRB2, H3F3B, GNL3L, and PELO. These genes showed satisfactory diagnostic values. Furthermore, there were association between these biomarkers and immune cells, including T cells CD8 and monocytes. In vitro experiments showed that IL-1β stimulation significantly inhibited the cell viability of chondrocytes and enhanced the levels of pro-inflammatory factors, that could mimic the inflammatory state of OA. The expression levels of GNL3L and H3F3B proteins in IL-1β group were obviously lower than those in control group, while levels of ADRB2 and PELO were higher, which was consistent with the results of bioinformatics analysis., Conclusion: Our study identifies LLPS-related genes as potential diagnostic biomarkers for OA. These findings provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying OA pathogenesis and offer opportunities for the development of novel therapeutic strategies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.)

Objective. Osteoarthritis (OA), also known as joint failure, is characterized by joint pain and, in severe cases, can lead to loss of joint function in patients. Immune-related genes and immune cell infiltration play a crucial role in OA development. We used bioinformatics approaches to detect potential diagnostic markers and available drugs for OA while initially exploring the immune mechanisms of OA. Methods. The training set GSE55235 and validation set GSE51588 and GSE55457 were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by the limma package. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed on the GSE55235 dataset using the cluster profiler package. At the same time, DEGs were analyzed by gene ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). In addition, protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis was performed on the common DEGs of the three datasets using the STRING database. Proteins with direct linkage were identified as hub genes, and the relation of hub genes was subsequently analyzed using the GOSemSim package. Hub genes' expression profiles and diagnostic capabilities (ROC curves) were analyzed and validated using three datasets. In addition, we performed RT-qPCR to validate the levels of hub genes. The immune microenvironment was analyzed using the CIBERSORT package, and the relationship between hub genes and immune cells was evaluated. In addition, we used a linkage map (CMAP) database to identify available drug candidates. Finally, the GSEA of hub genes was used to decipher the potential pathways corresponding to hub genes. Results. Three hub genes (CX3CR1, MYC, and TLR7) were identified. CX3CR1 and TLR7 were highly expressed in patients with OA, whereas the expression of MYC was low. The results of RT-qPCR validation were consistent with those obtained using datasets. Among these genes, CX3CR1 and TLR7 can be used as diagnostic markers. It was found that CX3CR1, MYC, and TLR7 affect the immune microenvironment of OA via different immune cells. In addition, we identified a potential drug for the treatment of OA. Altogether, CX3CR1, MYC, and TLR7 affect the immune response of OA through multiple pathways. Conclusion. CX3CR1, MYC, and TLR7 are associated with various immune cells and are the potential diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association of the modified STarT Back Tool (mSBT) psychosocial measure with gait speed and knee pain in knee osteoarthritis is not well defined. This study aimed to, in patients with knee osteoarthritis, (i) examine the convergent validity of mSBT with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and (ii) compare the predictive validity of mSBT and HADS with gait speed and knee pain. We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of mSBT, HADS, gait speed, and knee pain outcomes data collected from 119 patients who received outpatient physical therapy. Of these patients who were evaluated at their first (baseline) physical therapy visit, 55 had available data at the Week-16 follow-up visit. mSBT and HADS showed moderately strong pairwise correlations (Spearman correlation > 0.57; p < 0.001). After adjusting for age, sex, body weight, and knee impairment variables in multivariable linear mixed-effects analyses, mSBT was associated with gait speed (p < 0.001) and knee pain intensity (p < 0.001) and it had comparable strength of association as HADS. In within-patient regression analyses, change in mSBT was associated with changes in gait speed (p = 0.04) and knee pain (p = 0.01) over 16 weeks. The mSBT had convergent validity with HADS and it showed predictive validity with gait speed and knee pain in knee osteoarthritis. Although broader validation is required, the 5-item mSBT psychosocial measure may be applied as part of routine clinical care to assess psychological distress in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The 5-item psychosocial subscale of the modified STarT Back tool (mSBT) showed good convergent validity with the 14-item Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The mSBT psychosocial subscale showed predictive validity, at both cross-sectional and longitudinal levels, with gait speed and knee pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The mSBT can potentially be used in the busy clinical setting to assess psychological distress in patients with knee osteoarthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoarthritis, a common degenerative disease of articular cartilage, is characterized by degeneration of articular cartilage, changes in subchondral bone structure, and formation of osteophytes, with main clinical manifestations including increasingly serious swelling, pain, stiffness, deformity, and mobility deficits of the knee joints. With the advent of the big data era, the processing of mass data has evolved into a hot topic and gained a solid foundation from the steadily developed and improved machine learning algorithms. Aiming to provide a reference for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoarthritis, this paper using machine learning identifies the key feature genes of osteoarthritis and explores its relationship with immune infiltration, thereby revealing its pathogenesis at the molecular level. Methods: From the GEO database, GSE55235 and GSE55457 data were derived as training sets and GSE98918 data as a validation set. Differential gene expressions of the training sets were analyzed, and the LASSO regression model and support vector machine model were established by applying machine learning algorithms. Moreover, their intersection genes were regarded as feature genes, the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn, and the results were verified using the validation set. In addition, the expression spectrum of osteoarthritis was analyzed by immunocyte infiltration and the co-expression correlation between feature genes and immunocytes was construed. Conclusion: EPYC and KLF9 can be viewed as feature genes for osteoarthritis. The silencing of EPYC and the overexpression of KLF9 are associated with the occurrence of osteoarthritis and immunocyte infiltration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis of the hand and wrist is common; varying disease manifestations and a spectrum of symptoms make it imperative to approach treatment strategies in an individualized fashion. In this review, attention is focused upon site specific diagnoses and indications for various surgical treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is thought to be the most prevalent chronic joint disease. The incidence of OA is rising because of the ageing population and the epidemic of obesity. This research was designed for the identification of novel diagnostic biomarkers for OA and analyzing the possible association between critical genes and infiltrated immune cells. 10 OA samples from patients with spinal OA and 10 normal samples were collected. GSE55235 and GSE55457 datasets including human OA and normal samples were downloaded from the GEO datasets. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between 20 OA and 20 controls. SVM-RFE analysis and LASSO regression model were carried out to screen possible markers. The compositional patterns of the 22 types of immune cell fraction in OA were determined by the use of CIBERSORT. The expression level of the biomarkers in OA was examined by the use of RT-PCR. In this study, an overall 44 DEGs were identified: 18 genes were remarkably upregulated and 26 genes were distinctly downregulated. KEGG pathway analyses revealed that pathways were significantly enriched including IL-17 signal path, rheumatoid arthritis, TNF signal path, and lipid and atherosclerosis. Based on the results of machine learning, we identified APOLD1 and EPYC as critical diagnostic genes in OA, which were further confirmed using ROC assays. Immune cell infiltration analysis revealed that APOLD1 was correlated with mastocytes stimulated, NK cells resting, T cells CD4 memory resting, DCs stimulated, T cells gamma delta, macrophages M0, NK cells stimulated, and mastocytes resting. Moreover, we found that EPYC was correlated with mastocytes stimulated, NK cells resting, T cells CD4 memory resting, DCs stimulated, T cells gamma delta, macrophages M0, NK cells stimulated, and mastocytes resting. Overall, our findings might provide some novel clue for the exploration of novel markers for OA diagnosis. The critical genes and their associations with immune infiltration may offer new insight into understanding OA developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Sweden, core treatment for osteoarthritis is offered through a Supported Osteoarthritis Self-Management Programme (SOASP), combining education and exercise to provide patients with coping strategies in self-managing the disease. The aim was to study enablement and empowerment among patients with osteoarthritis in the hip and/or knee participating in a SOASP. An additional aim was to study the relation between the Swedish version of the Patient Enablement Instrument (PEI) and the Swedish Rheumatic Disease Empowerment Scale (SWE-RES-23).Methods: Patients with osteoarthritis participating in a SOASP in primary health care were recruited consecutively from 2016 to 2018. The PEI (score range 0-12) was used to measure enablement and the SWE-RES-23 (score range 1-5) to measure empowerment. The instruments were answered before (SWE-RES-23) and after the SOASP (PEI, SWE-RES-23). A patient partner was incorporated in the study. Descriptive statistics, the Wilcoxon's signed rank test, effect size (r), and the Spearman's rho (rs) were used in the analysis.Results: In total, 143 patients were included in the study, 111 (78%) were women (mean age 66, SD 9.3 years). At baseline the reported median value for the SWE-RES-23 (n = 142) was 3.6 (IQR 3.3-4.0). After the educational part of the SOASP, the reported median value was 6 (IQR 3-6.5) for the PEI (n = 109) and 3.8 (IQR 3.6-4.1) for the SWE-RES-23 (n = 108). At three months follow-up (n = 116), the reported median value was 6 (IQR 4-7) for the PEI and 3.9 (IQR 3.6-4.2) for the SWE-RES-23. The SWE-RES-23 score increased between baseline and three months (p ≤ 0.000). The analysis showed a positive correlation between PEI and SWE-RES-23 after the educational part of the SOASP (rs = 0.493, p < 0.00, n = 108) and at follow-up at three months (rs = 0.507, p < 0.00, n = 116).Conclusions: Patients reported moderate to high enablement and empowerment and an increase in empowerment after participating in a SOASP, which might indicate that the SOASP is useful to enable and empower patients at least in the short term. Since our results showed that the PEI and the SWE-RES-23 are only partly related both instruments can be of use in evaluating interventions such as the SOASP.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT02974036 . First registration 28/11/2016, retrospectively registered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In clinical practice, osteoarthritis (OA) is frequently misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteonecrosis (ON), leading to wrong treatment and disease progression. Circular RNA- (circRNA-) 016901 affects the recovery of irradiation-induced injury in the bone, while its role in OA is unclear. This study is aimed at exploring the role of circRNA-016901 in improving the diagnostic accuracy of OA. The present study included patients with OA (n = 80), patients with RA (n = 80), patients with ON (n = 80), and healthy controls (HCs, n = 80) to collect plasma samples before and after treatment. RT-qPCR was performed to detect RNA accumulation of circRNA-016901 in plasma samples from all participants. The role of plasma expression of circRNA-016901 in predicting OA was studied with ROC curve analysis. Association between plasma expression of circRNA-016901 and patients' clinical features was analyzed with the chi-squared test. Compared to HCs, increased accumulation of circRNA-016901 was only observed in the OA group, but not in the RA and ON groups before treatment. OA patients were effectively separated from the RA, ON, and HC groups using plasma expression of circRNA-016901 before treatment as a biomarker. Plasma expression of circRNA-016901 was closely associated with OA patients' disease severity. After treatment, decreased plasma expression levels of circRNA-016901 were only observed in OA patients, while no alteration in plasma circRNA-016901 accumulation was observed in the RA and ON groups. In conclusion, circRNA-016901 is accumulated to high levels in OA and may be applied to improve the diagnostic accuracy of OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate in vivo kinematics in healthy and osteoarthritic (OA) knees during stepping using image-matching techniques. Six healthy volunteers and 14 patients with a medial OA knee before undergoing total knee arthroplasty performed stepping under periodic anteroposterior radiograph images. We analyzed the three-dimensional kinematic parameters of knee joints using radiograph images and CT-derived digitally reconstructed radiographs. The average extension/flexion angle ranged 6753° and 16744° in healthy and OA knees, with significant difference in extension (P = .02). The average varus angle was -2° and 6° in healthy and OA knees, with a significant difference (P = .03). OA knees showed 1.7° of significantly larger varus thrust (P = .04) and 4.2 mm of significantly smaller posterior femoral rollback (P = .04) compared with healthy knees. Coronal limb alignment in OA knees significantly correlated with varus thrust (R² = .36, P = .02) and medial shift of the femur (R² = .34, P - .03). Both normal and OA knees showed no transverse plane instability, including anteroposterior, mediolateral directions, or axial rotation. In conclusion, OA knees demonstrated different kinematics during stepping from normal knees: less knee extension, larger varus thrust, less posterior translation, and larger medial shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of degenerative joint disease and affects millions of people. In this paper, we propose a non-obtrusive and straightforward method to assess the progression of osteoarthritis. In standard medicine praxis, osteoarthritis is observed with X-rays. In this study, we use widely available wearable sensors with gyroscopes to make the observation. Two novel methods are proposed for gyroscope data processing. A small-scale study has shown that these methods can be used to monitor osteoarthritis's progression, and to differentiate between healthy subjects and subjects with femoroacetabular impingement syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoarthritis and condylar resorption of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) has rarely been reported in children as consequence of otologic disease. We describe the management of a case in a 9-year-old female as long-term complication of an otomastoiditis and review the literature currently available on this topic. Case presentation: A nine-years-old female patient referred to Emergency Room of Bambino Gesù Children's Research Hospital, IRCCS (Rome,Italy) for an acute pain in the left preauricular area and reduced mandibular movements. In the medical history an otomastoiditis and periorbital cellulitis was reported at the age of six with complete remission of symptoms after antibiotic treatment. No recent history of facial trauma and no previous orthodontic treatment were reported. She was referred to a pediatric dentist that conducted a clinical examination according to the Diagnostic Criteria of Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD) and was diagnosed with bilateral myalgia of the masticatory muscles and arthralgia at the level of the left TMJ. Then, a complete diagnostic path was performed that included multidisciplinary examinations by a rheumatologist, infectious disease specialist, ear nose and throat (ENT) doctor, a maxillofacial surgeon and a medical imaging specialist. Differential diagnosis included juvenile idiopathic arthritis, idiopathic condylar resorption, trauma, degenerative joint disease, neurological disease. Finally, unilateral post-infective osteoarthritis of the left TMJ with resorption of mandibular condyle was diagnosed. The patient went through a pharmacological therapy with paracetamol associated to counselling, jaw exercises and occlusal bite plate. After 1 month, the patient showed significant reduction of orofacial pain and functional recovery that was confirmed also one-year post-treatment. The novelty of this clinical case lies in the accurate description of the multidisciplinary approach with clinical examination, the differential diagnosis process and the management of TMD with conservative treatment in a growing patient. Conclusions: Septic arthritis of temporomandibular joint and condylar resorption were described as complications of acute otitis media and/or otomastoiditis in children. We evidenced the importance of long-term follow-up in children with acute media otitis or otomastoiditis due to the onset of TMJ diseases. Furthermore, in the multidisciplinary management of orofacial pain the role of pediatric dentist is crucial for the diagnostic and therapeutic pathway to avoid serious impairment of mandibular function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To perform reliability and validity study of the Functional Index for Hand Osteoarthritis (FIHOA) in the Turkish language.Methods: FIHOA was translated into Turkish following the principles of cross-cultural adaptation. Our translation was firstly tested in 40 patients with hand osteoarthritis. Adapted FIHOA questionnaire was then administrated to 100 hand OA patients successively with Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (mHAQ), Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), and Short Form-36 (SF-36). Patients filled out the FIHOA questionnaire one more time after five days for test-retest assessment. Patients were divided into two groups as symptomatic or asymptomatic, with a NRS score of 5 or above defining symptomatic OA. Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of test-retest reliability. Spearman correlation analysis was used to determine the correlation and validity between data. External construct validity was assessed using the correlation between FIHOA, mHAQ, hand pain NRS, and negative correlation with SF-36 subgroups.Results: According to the total score, Cronbach-alpha was found as 0.90, while ICC was determined as 0.98 for test-retest reliability. When the correlations between the FIHOA questionnaire, mHAQ, and NRS questionnaires were examined, significant correlations were determined, and negative correlations between FIHOA and SF-36 subgroups were observed.Conclusion: Turkish FIHOA is a reliable and valid method for assessing functionality in Turkish patients with hand osteoarthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoarthritis is one of the most common musculoskeletal problems. Pain is the most common complaint and the most significant cause of decreased health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among osteoarthritic patients. The objectives of this study were to assess the impact of pain on quality of life among patients with osteoarthritis and to assess the association of sociodemographic and clinical factors with HRQOL.Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design, we collected data from osteoarthritis patients in orthopedic outpatient clinics from four hospitals in the Palestine-West bank between November 2020 and March 2021. We used the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) scale to assess pain and the Quality of Life scale five dimensions (EQ-5D) with the visual analog scale of the European Quality of Life (EQ-VAS) to assess HRQOL.Results: In our study, 196 patients composed the final sample, with an average of 60.12 ± 13.63 years. The medians for the EQ-5D score and EQ-VAS score were 0.72 (0.508-0.796) and 70 (55-85), respectively. The pain severity score was found to have a significant negative association with both the EQ-5D and EQ-VAS scores with r of - 0.620, p <  0.001, and - 0.554, p <  0.001, respectively. Similar associations were found between pain interference score and both EQ-5D (r = - 0.822, p <  0.001) and EQ-VAS scores (r = - 0.609, p <  0.001). Multiple regression analysis showed that participants with higher educational level (p = 0.028), less diseased joints (p = 0.01), shorter duration of disease (p = 0.04), and lesser pain severity and interference scores (both with p < 0.001) had significantly higher HRQOL scores.Conclusions: We found that many variables have a significant negative impact on HRQOL among patients with osteoarthritis. Our finding provides a well-founded database to use by clinicians and healthcare professionals who work with patients with osteoarthritis, as well as educational and academic institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease closely associated with Anoikis. The objective of this work was to discover novel transcriptome-based anoikis-related biomarkers and pathways for OA progression.The microarray datasets GSE114007 and GSE89408 were downloaded using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. A collection of genes linked to anoikis has been collected from the GeneCards database. The intersection genes of the differential anoikis-related genes (DEARGs) were identified using a Venn diagram. Infiltration analyses were used to identify and study the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Anoikis clustering was used to identify the DEGs. By using gene clustering, two OA subgroups were formed using the DEGs. GSE152805 was used to analyse OA cartilage on a single cell level. 10 DEARGs were identified by lasso analysis, and two Anoikis subtypes were constructed. MEgreen module was found in disease WGCNA analysis, and MEturquoise module was most significant in gene clusters WGCNA. The XGB, SVM, RF, and GLM models identified five hub genes (CDH2, SHCBP1, SCG2, C10orf10, P FKFB3), and the diagnostic model built using these five genes performed well in the training and validation cohorts. analysing single-cell RNA sequencing data from GSE152805, including 25,852 cells of 6 OA cartilage.

• Les images ostéodensitométriques du rachis ne permettent pas de diagnostiquer la discarthrose dorso-lombaire. • La visibilité des vertèbres sur les images ostéodensitométriques est insuffisante en raison d'une faible résolution de cette méthode. • Le diagnostic de la discarthrose au niveau de la partie supérieure du rachis dorsal est peu fiable en raison d'une faible visibilité de ces vertèbres. L'objectif est d'évaluer l'utilité des images ostéodensitométriques latérales du rachis pour le diagnostic de la discarthrose. Les radiographies et les images ostéodensitométriques du rachis en incidence latérale ont été obtenues chez 77 patients âgés de 18 à 89 ans (écart ≤ 6 mois entre les deux examens). La discarthrose était évaluée à l'aide de l'échelle de Lane. Les images de 20 patients sélectionnés au hasard ont été évaluées par les deux observateurs. Le rachis dorsal était non interprétable sur 13 % des images ostéodensitométriques. La reproductibilité intra-observateur de l'interprétabilité des disques intervertébraux sur les images ostéodensitométriques était bonne (κ= 0,81), alors que la reproductibilité inter-observateur était faible (κ= 0,27–0,36). Pour les critères diagnostiques (ostéophytose, pincement discal, sclérose des plateaux vertébraux, score total), la reproductibilité intra-observateur était excellente sur les radiographies (κ= 0,89-0,92), bonne sur les images ostéodensitométriques (κ= 0,64-0,83) et faible à modérée entre les deux méthodes (κ= 0,25–0,44). La reproductibilité inter-observateur était modérée à bonne pour les radiographies (κ= 0,49–0,66) et faible à bonne pour les images ostéodensitométriques (κ= 0,32–0,74). Dans l'analyse par patient en fonction du grade le plus sévère, la reproductibilité intra-observateur était excellente sur les radiographies (κ= 0,85–0,94), modérée à excellente entre les images ostéodensitométriques (κ= 0,53–0,85) et faible à bonne entre les deux approches (κ= 0,17–0,63). Les images ostéodensitométriques ne paraissent pas utiles dans le diagnostic de la discarthrose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the miRNA-129-3p expressions in the synovial fluid of patients with a primary knee osteoarthritis (OA), and thereby contribution to the elucidating underlying molecular mechanisms in OA pathophysiology. Methods: Patient group included 31 individuals with an advanced knee OA. A total of 13 patients with anterior cruciate ligament rupture who had no cartilage damage, were chosen as a control group. Synovial fluid samples were collected during the total knee arthroplasty and an arthroscopic reconstruction. After the centrifugation, samples were stored in a -80 °C cooler. The miRNA-129-3p expressions were examined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction using the RNU44 molecule as a reference. The 2-ΔΔCt method was used to calculate the expression of molecules. Statistical comparisons were undertaken by the Student's t-test. Pearson's chi-square test was used to determine the differences in the ratios or relationships between the categorical variables. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05 for all the cases. Results: In this study, the miRNA-129-3p, which we thought to be associated with the ciliogenesis, IL-17, and osteoprotegerin, was found 1.54 times higher in the synovial fluid of the patients compared to a control group (p<0.01). Conclusion: It is thought that the miRNA-129-3p may play a role in the OA pathophysiology. Extensive studies are required to use the miRNA-129-3p as a biomarker, or a treatment target for OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although many children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) develop arthritis and deformity of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), many go undetected. Objective: This study investigates whether findings from patient history and clinical examination using the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) can be used to diagnose TMJ involvement. Methods: As a part of the screening program, 59 consecutive JIA patients age 7–14 years underwent a clinical examination according to RDC/TMD including self‐reported orofacial pain and pain related to jaw function, and cone beam computer tomography (CBCT). Data were obtained from the patient's medical charts. Patients were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of TMJ deformities on CBCT. Results: Self‐reported TMJ symptoms before inclusion were reported by 52% of children with and 18% of children without TMJ deformities on CBCT (p =.020). On a group level, the maximum unassisted (mouth) opening (MUO) with and without pain was within the normal range, but children with TMJ deformities showed a significantly smaller MUO with pain (p =.035). A diagnosis of osteoarthritis and osteoarthrosis was more prevalent in children with TMJ deformities. Conclusion: Although there were few differences between children with and without radiographic TMJ deformities, self‐reported previous TMJ symptoms and reduced MUO with pain could indicate the presence of TMJ involvement. However, radiographic examinations are needed to confirm TMJ involvement. Thus, this study indicates that the RDC/TMD protocol is a blunt tool when targeting TMJ involvement in JIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is associated with cartilage destruction. Maintenance of differentiated chondrocyte biomarkers is important in prevention of degeneration. Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) such as raloxifene (Ral) and phytoestrogens like enterolactone (Ent) which have structural and functional homologies with estrogen can mime their action. This study was undertaken to evaluate in vitro the possible effects of Ral and Ent on the expression of differentiated, dedifferentiated and hypertrophic biomarkers in human articular chondrocytes (HAC). Methods: Chondrocytes of osteoarthritic patients, harvested from one passage cell culture, were treated with Ral (0.1 and 1 µM) and Ent (1 and 5 µM) for 10 and 12 days in two- (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) models. Genes expression of type I collagen (COL1A1), type II collagen (COL2A1), type X collagen (COL10A1), aggrecan (ACAN) and small novel rich in cartilage (SNORC), were detected by real-time PCR and by Western-Blotting. Results: Our study revealed that Ral increased COL2A1, ACAN and SNORC and decreased concomitantly COL1A1 and COL10A1 genes expression when compared to untreated OA chondrocytes. Ent increased COL2A1 and decreased genes expression of the other biomarkers cited above like COL1A1. Our results demonstrated that low doses of 17ß-oestradiol (E2), Ral and Ent had positive effects on the expression of differentiated chondrocyte markers such as COL2A1, ACAN and SNORC whereas high dose of these compounds inhibited their effects. Our results showed that 1µM of Ral induced an up-regulation of COL2A1, ACAN and SNORC expression and a downregulation of COL1A1 and COL10A1 expression in HAC incubated in 3D for 12 days. Conclusions: This study showed that SERMs like Ral and a phyto-estrogen like Ent induced the expression of differentiated chondrocyte markers of hyaline cartilage: COL2A1, ACAN and SNORC and decreased COL1A1 and COL10A1 genes expression on HAC of osteoarthritis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the predictive ability of bioindicators derived from complete blood count (CBC) parameters and monocyte-high density lipoprotein-cholesterol ratio (MHR) in the diagnosis of radiological stage of knee osteoarthritis (OA) in this study. Method: This cross-sectional retrospective study was carried out between November 2017 and June 2021, in our physical therapy and rehabilitation clinics. 65 patients knee x-rays and routine laboratory results were included in the study. Each knee x-rays were assigned a grade from 0 to 4 (Kellgren-Lawrence Classification System (KL). Patients were divided into two groups according to severity of the knee OA as follows. Group 1: Mild-moderate OA (KL Grade1-2), Group 2: Severe OA (KL Grade 3-4). Results: Independent T test and Mann Whitney U test were used to assess whether there was a difference in CBC parameters and their derivatives between two groups. Platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR), red cell distribution width (RDW) to platelet ratio (RPR) and platelet (PLT) counts indicated statistically significant differences between the groups, p-values were 0.04, 0.03 and 0.04 respectively. There were no significant differences in terms of MHR score between the groups. Conclusions: We could not find a relationship between MHR and radiological degree of knee osteoarthritis. However, there is a correlation between radiological stage of knee osteoarthritis and hemogram parameters like PLT and their derivatives such as PLR and RPR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: One in five patients report chronic pain following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and are considered non-improvers. Psychological interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), combined with exercise therapy and education may contribute to reduced pain an improved function both for patients with OA or after TKA surgery, but the evidence for the effectiveness of such interventions is scarce. This randomized controlled trial with three arms will compare the clinical effectiveness of patient education and exercise therapy combined with internet-delivered CBT (iCBT), evaluated either as a non-surgical treatment choice or in combination with TKA, in comparison to usual treatment with TKA in patients with knee OA who are considered candidates for TKA surgery.Methods: The study, conducted in three orthopaedic centers in Norway will include 282 patients between ages 18 and 80, eligible for TKA. Patients will be randomized to receive the exercise therapy + iCBT, either alone or in combination with TKA, or to a control group who will undergo conventional TKA and usual care physiotherapy following surgery. The exercise therapy will include 24 one hour sessions over 12 weeks led by a physiotherapist. The iCBT program will be delivered in ten modules. The physiotherapists will receive theoretical and practical training to advise and mentor the patients during the iCBT program. The primary outcome will be change from baseline to 12 months on the pain sub-scale from the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Secondary outcomes include the remaining 4 sub-scales from the KOOS (symptoms, function in daily living, function in sports and recreation, and knee-related quality of life), EQ-5D-5L, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, the 30-s sit-to-stand test, 40-m walking test and ActiGraph activity measures. A cost-utility analysis will be performed using QALYs derived from the EQ-5D-5L and registry data.Discussion: This is the first randomized controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of exercise therapy and iCBT with or without TKA, to optimize outcomes for TKA patients. Findings from this trial will contribute to evidence-based personalized treatment recommendations for a large proportion of OA patients who currently lack an effective treatment option.Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov : NCT03771430 . Registered: Dec 11, 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Meniscal lesions are common and are associated with the development of knee osteoarthritis. Knee-straining activities at work such as kneeling or squatting cause high biomechanical stresses on the knee joints that can lead to acute or chronic injuries. The objective of this systematic review is to update the evidence on the potential relationship between occupational risk factors and meniscal lesions.Methods: We searched the Medline, Embase and Web of Science databases until August 2021 to identify epidemiological observational studies on the association between occupational risk factors and meniscal lesions. Study selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessment were performed independently by two reviewers. Effect measures were extracted from individual studies and pooled with random effects meta-analysis. Heterogeneity analyses were conducted. We used GRADE (Grades of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) to assess the overall quality of evidence.Results: The database search resulted in 11,006 references, and 46 additional studies were identified through hand search. Twenty-two studies (represented in 25 publications) met the predefined eligibility criteria and nine records were included in the meta-analysis. There was only one study with an overall low risk of bias. Significant associations between occupational risk factors and the development of meniscal lesions were found for kneeling (effect size (ES) 2.15, 95% CI 1.67-2.76), squatting (ES 2.01, 95% CI 1.34-3.03), climbing stairs (ES 2.28, 95% CI 1.58-3.30), lifting and carrying weights ≥ 10 kg (ES 1.63, 95% CI 1.35-1.96), lifting and carrying weights ≥ 25 kg (ES 1.56, 95% CI 1.08-2.24), playing football on a professional level (ES 5.22, 95% CI 3.24-8.41), working as a hard coal miner (ES 5.23, 95% CI 2.16-12.69) and floor layers (ES 1.99, 95% CI 1.43-2.78). The overall quality of evidence according GRADE was moderate to low.Conclusion: We found consistent evidence of an increased risk of meniscal lesions by occupational knee-straining exposures. Our findings are important for the development of preventive strategies to reduce work-related knee disorders and work absence.Trial Registration: PROSPERO (registration no. CRD42020196279 ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Our study aimed to identify potential specific biomarkers for osteoarthritis (OA) and assess their relationship with immune infiltration., Methods: We utilized data from GSE117999, GSE51588, and GSE57218 as training sets, while GSE114007 served as a validation set, all obtained from the GEO database. First, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and functional enrichment analysis were performed to identify hub modules and potential functions of genes. We subsequently screened for potential OA biomarkers within the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of the hub module using machine learning methods. The diagnostic accuracy of the candidate genes was validated. Additionally, single gene analysis and ssGSEA was performed. Then, we explored the relationship between biomarkers and immune cells. Lastly, we employed RT-PCR to validate our results., Results: WGCNA results suggested that the blue module was the most associated with OA and was functionally associated with extracellular matrix (ECM)-related terms. Our analysis identified ALB, HTRA1, DPT, MXRA5, CILP, MPO, and PLAT as potential biomarkers. Notably, HTRA1, DPT, and MXRA5 consistently exhibited increased expression in OA across both training and validation cohorts, demonstrating robust diagnostic potential. The ssGSEA results revealed that abnormal infiltration of DCs, NK cells, Tfh, Th2, and Treg cells might contribute to OA progression. HTRA1, DPT, and MXRA5 showed significant correlation with immune cell infiltration. The RT-PCR results also confirmed these findings., Conclusions: HTRA1, DPT, and MXRA5 are promising biomarkers for OA. Their overexpression strongly correlates with OA progression and immune cell infiltration., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic and progressive degenerative disease that affects joint structures, such as the hips, knees, and hands, involving the articular cartilage, subchondral bone, ligaments, capsule, and synovium. OA is characterized by a progressive degeneration of the joint structures, resulting in pain and decreased quality of life. Local and systemic risk factors pave the way for OA development. Different phenotypes may be identified, but three main molecular mechanisms define the endotypes: the bone-driven endotype, the synovitis-driven endotype, and the cartilage-driven endotype. The hallmark of OA pathophysiology involves more than just mechanical degradation; it includes the release of pro-inflammatory mediators, such as interleukins and TNF-α, which elucidates the significant roles of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cellular senescence in its development. OA is distinguished by a clinical presentation that varies significantly between people and is marked by pain, stiffness, and functional impairments. The clinical course can be split into Pre-OA, Early OA, Evident OA, and End-Stage. Depending on the stage of the disease, OA diagnosis frequently necessitates a complex strategy that combines clinical evaluation to detect joint tenderness, range of motion, and joint swelling or abnormalities, medical history assessment, imaging modalities, and laboratory investigations. There is no known treatment for OA, and different therapies are usually evaluated based on the stage of the disease to minimize pain and stiffness while maintaining joint function. Treatments are divided into the reduction of modifiable risk factors, pharmacologic therapies, rehabilitation, complementary therapies, interventional pain procedures, and surgery. OA clinical heterogeneity underlines the importance of prevention, early diagnosis, and identifying the phenotype and endotype to tailor the treatment.

Imaging methods capable of detecting inflammation, such as MR imaging and ultrasound, are of paramount importance in rheumatic disease management, not only for diagnostic purposes but also for monitoring disease activity and treatment response. However, more advanced stages of arthritis, characterized by findings of cumulative structural damage, have traditionally been accomplished by radiographs and computed tomography. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of imaging of some of the most prevalent inflammatory rheumatic diseases affecting the lower limb (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gout) and up-to-date recommendations regarding imaging diagnostic workup., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Purpose: To investigate the incidence of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or osteoarthritis (OA) after primary joint arthroplasty; to analyze the optimal cut-off values of clinical serum markers C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and D-dimer for the diagnosis of PJI in RA patients; and to explore their diagnostic efficacy and clinical significance., Methods: Clinical data of 15,702 patients with RA (578) or OA (15,124) who underwent total joint arthroplasty from 2013 to 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Serum CRP, ESR, and D-dimer were recorded for each patient, and subject characteristic curves were used to determine the optimal threshold values of CRP, ESR, and D-dimer for RA-PJI and OA-PJI and to compare the areas under the curves to assess the diagnostic efficacy of the optimal threshold values of serologic indices for RA-PJI., Results: The five year incidence of PJI was 6.92% in RA patients and 0.67% in OA patients. The optimal thresholds of CRP, ESR, and D-dimer for the diagnosis of RA-PJI were respectively 13.85 mg/L, 33.02 mm/h, and 796.50 ng/mL. The sensitivities of the optimal thresholds were respectively 67.6%, 62.2%, and 56.8%, and the specificities were 74.7%, 60.4%, and 74.4%., Conclusion: RA patients have a higher incidence of PJI than OA patients. The optimal thresholds for CRP, ESR, and d-dimer for the diagnosis of PJI were higher in RA patients than in OA patients, but the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnosis were not as good as in OA patients., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to SICOT aisbl.)

Objective: To determine the prevalence and related factors of diagnosed osteoarthrosis (DO) and undiagnosed osteoarthrosis (UO) in the general Spanish adult population., Setting: Cross-sectional study with data from the Spanish National Health Survey 2017., Participants: N=23,089 adults. Three groups of people were defined: DO, UO, and no osteoarthrosis (NO)., Main Measurements: Sociodemographic information, lifestyle (tobacco, alcohol, physical activity, body mass index) and health factors (intensity of pain, pain drug consumption, mental health, self-perceived health status, pain involvement in daily living) were collected. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed, and a multinomial logistic regression model for the factors associated with each group., Results: The prevalence of DO was 22.4% (95%CI=21.8;22.9) and 0.9% (95%CI=0.8;1) of UO. With respect to NO, risk factors for DO and UO included higher pain levels and pain drug consumption. Better self-perceived health status was inversely related with both. More pain involvement in daily living was associated with increased risk of DO, but reduced risk of UO., Conclusions: The prevalence of DO and UO was similar to that reported in Europe, but slightly higher than in low/middle-income countries. It was more prevalent in females, older people, people with worse perceived health status and worse mental health. Higher pain levels and pain drug consumption were risk factors for DO and UO. Better self-perceived health status was protective. Pain involvement in daily living was a risk factor for DO, but protective for UO. Different public health strategies should be considered in view of this., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Publicado por Elsevier España S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR) and temporal trends for hip, knee, hand, and other osteoarthritis (OA) at a global, continental, and national level., Design: The estimates and 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for case number and ASPR of OA were derived from the Global Burden of Diseases Study (GBD) 2019. The joinpoint regression analysis was utilized to examine the temporal trends from 1990 to 2019., Results: In 2019, the global ASPR of hip, knee, hand, and other OA was 400.95 (95% UI: 312.77-499.41), 4375.95 (95% UI: 3793.04-5004.9), 1726.38 (95% UI: 1319.91-2254.85), and 745.62 (95% UI: 570.16-939.8). As for the ASPR of hip OA, hand OA, and other OA, Europe and America had higher rates than Asia and Africa, and Asia was second only to America in knee OA ASPRs. The period 1990-2019, the ASPR at global level dropped significantly for hand OA (AAPC = -0.4%, 95% CI: -0.47 to -0.34) and increased significantly for hip OA (AAPC = 0.43%, 95% CI: 0.39-0.46), knee OA (AAPC = 0.17%, 95% CI: 0.09-0.24) and other OA (AAPC = 0.16%, 95% CI: 0.15-0.17). Different continents, countries, and periods demonstrated significant changes., Conclusions: Globally, America has the highest OA burden and Asia has a higher knee OA burden. Appropriate prevention and control measures to reduce modifiable risk factors are needed to reduce the burden of OA., (© 2024 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Articular cartilage is a complex tissue, and early detection of osteoarthritis (OA) is crucial for effective treatment. However, current imaging modalities lack molecular specificity and primarily detect late-stage changes. In this study, we propose the use of spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) for noninvasive, depth-dependent, and molecular-specific diagnostics of articular cartilage. We demonstrate the potential of SORS to penetrate deep layers of cartilage, providing a comprehensive understanding of disease progression. Our SORS measurements were characterized and validated through mechanical and histological techniques, revealing strong correlations between spectroscopic measurements and both Young's modulus and depth of cartilage damage. By longitudinally monitoring enzymatically degraded condyles, we further developed a depth-dependent damage-tracking method. Our analysis revealed distinct components related to sample depth and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) changes, offering a comprehensive picture of cartilage health. Collectively, these findings highlight the potential of SORS as a valuable tool for enhancing OA management and improving patient outcomes.