Position statement: the epidemiology, pathogenesis and risk factors of osteoarthritis of the knee

Investigation of periodontitis, halitosis, xerostomia, and serological characteristics of patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis and identification of new biomarkers

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) are two different types of arthritis. Within RA, the subsets between seronegative RA (snRA) and seropositive RA (spRA) represent distinct disease entities; however, identifying clear distinguishing markers between them remains a challenge. This study investigated and compared the oral health conditions in patients with RA and OA to clarify the differences from healthy controls. In addition, we investigated the serological characteristics of the patients, the factors that distinguished patients with RA from those with OA, and the main factors that differentiated between snRA and spRA patients. A total of 161 participants (mean age: 52.52 ± 14.57 years, 32 males and 129 females) were enrolled in this study and categorized as: normal (n = 33), OA (n = 31), and RA (n = 97). Patients with RA were divided into the following two subtypes: snRA (n = 18) and spRA (n = 79). Demographics, oral health, and serological characteristics of these patients were compared. The prevalence of periodontal diseases was significantly higher in patients with OA (100%) and RA (92.8%) than in healthy controls (0.0%). However, the presence of periodontal diseases was not utilized as a distinguishing factor between OA and RA. Xerostomia occurred more frequently in patients with RA (84.5%) than in patients with OA (3.2%) and healthy controls (0.0%) (all p < 0.001). ROC analysis revealed that periodontal disease was a very strong predictor in the diagnosis of OA compared to healthy controls, with an AUC value of 1.00 (p < 0.001). Additionally, halitosis (AUC = 0.746, 95% CI 0.621-0.871, p < 0.001) and female sex (AUC = 0.663, 95% CI 0.529-0.797, p < 0.05) were also significant predictors of OA. The strongest predictors of RA diagnosis compared to healthy controls were periodontal diseases (AUC = 0.964), followed by xerostomia (AUC = 0.923), age (AUC = 0.923), female sex (AUC = 0.660), and halitosis (AUC = 0.615) (all p < 0.05). Significant serological predictors of RA were anti-CCP Ab (AUC = 0.808), and RF (AUC = 0.746) (all p < 0.05). In multiple logistic regression analysis, xerostomia (odds ratio, OR: 8124.88, 95% CI 10.37-6368261.97, p-value = 0.008) and Anti-CCP Ab (OR: 671.33, 95% CI 2.18-207,074.02, p = 0.026) were significant predictors for RA compared to OA. When diagnosing spRA compared to snRA, anti-CCP Ab (AUC = 1.000, p < 0.001) and RF (AUC = 0.910, 95%CI 0.854-0.967, p < 0.001) had outstanding predictive performances. Therefore, clinicians and researchers should thoroughly evaluate the oral status of both OA and RA patients, alongside serological factors, and consider these elements as potential predictors.

Measures of sleep are not routinely captured in trials assessing treatment outcomes in knee osteoarthritis - A scoping systematic review and call to action

Objective

To identify and map the extent to which trials for pain interventions in individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA) track measures of sleep, characterize the type of sleep measure assessed, and assess their influence on pain-related effect sizes.

Design

A scoping review was conducted, searching seven bibliometric databases from 2000 to 2022. We included all randomized controlled trials with a primary purpose of assessing non-surgical pain management interventions for adults with knee OA. All non-surgical interventions and any comparator or control were included. Demographic data were pooled from all trials.

Results

926 trials conducted in 61 countries met eligibility. Nineteen trials (2.1%) recorded some form of sleep assessment. Eleven trials (1.2%) assessed a formal index of sleep disturbance collected at multiple time points. No trials formally assessed the influence of sleep on the primary pain outcome (e.g., as a potential mediator), nor met the most recent guidelines for core data element recommendations regarding sleep assessment.

Conclusion

This review highlights the paucity of sleep data captured and reported in randomized controlled trials for knee OA. The vast majority of trials addressing symptomatic knee OA do not capture sleep measures, significantly limiting the ability to accurately determine an intervention's effect on pain. Future research should include formal sleep-centric assessments measured at multiple time points to analyze sleep dysfunction and its relationship on treatment effects.

Update on Novel Non-Operative Treatment for Osteoarthritis: Current Status and Future Trends

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of pain and disability which results in a reduced quality of life. Due to the avascular nature of cartilage, damaged cartilage has a finite capacity for healing or regeneration. To date, conservative management, including physical measures and pharmacological therapy are still the principal choices offered for OA patients. Joint arthroplasties or total replacement surgeries are served as the ultimate therapeutic option to rehabilitate the joint function of patients who withstand severe OA. However, these approaches are mainly to relieve the symptoms of OA, instead of decelerating or reversing the progress of cartilage damage. Disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOADs) aiming to modify key structures within the OA joints are in development. Tissue engineering is a promising strategy for repairing cartilage, in which cells, genes, and biomaterials are encompassed. Here, we review the current status of preclinical investigations and clinical translations of tissue engineering in the non-operative treatment of OA. Furthermore, this review provides our perspective on the challenges and future directions of tissue engineering in cartilage regeneration.

Larger range of motion and increased return to activity, but higher revision rates following unicompartmental versus total knee arthroplasty in patients under 65: a systematic review

PURPOSE

Due to the lack of comparative studies, a systematic review was conducted to determine revision rates of unicompartmental and total knee arthroplasty (UKA and TKA), and compare functional outcomes, range of motion and activity scores in patients less than 65 years of age.

METHODS

A literature search was performed using PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane systems since 2000. 27 UKA and 33 TKA studies were identified and included. Annual revision rate (ARR), functional outcomes, and return to activity were assessed for both types of arthroplasty using independent t tests.

RESULTS

Four level I studies, 12 level II, 16 level III, and 29 level IV were included, which reported on outcomes in 2224 UKAs and 4737 TKAs. UKA studies reported 183 revisions, yielding an ARR of 1.00 and extrapolated 10-year survivorship of 90.0%. TKA studies reported 324 TKA revisions, resulting in an ARR of 0.53 and extrapolated 10-year survivorship of 94.7%. Functional outcomes scores following UKA and TKA were equivalent, however, following UKA larger ROM (125° versus 114°, p = 0.004) and higher UCLA scores were observed compared to TKA (6.9 versus 6.0, n.s.).

CONCLUSION

These results show that good-to-excellent outcomes can be achieved following UKA and TKA in patients less than 65 years of age. A higher ARR was noted following UKA compared to TKA. However, improved functional outcomes, ROM and return to activity were found after UKA than TKA in this young population. Comparative studies are needed to confirm these findings and assess factors contributing to failure at the younger patient population. Outcomes of UKA and TKA in patients younger than 65 years are both satisfying, and therefore, both procedures are not contraindicated at younger age. UKA has several important advantages over TKA in this young and frequently more active population.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

IV.

Discovery of circulating proteins associated to knee radiographic osteoarthritis

Currently there are no sufficiently sensitive biomarkers able to reflect changes in joint remodelling during osteoarthritis (OA). In this work, we took an affinity proteomic approach to profile serum samples for proteins that could serve as indicators for the diagnosis of radiographic knee OA. Antibody suspension bead arrays were applied to analyze serum samples from patients with OA (n = 273), control subjects (n = 76) and patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 244). For verification, a focused bead array was built and applied to an independent set of serum samples from patients with OA (n = 188), control individuals (n = 83) and RA (n = 168) patients. A linear regression analysis adjusting for sex, age and body mass index (BMI) revealed that three proteins were significantly elevated (P < 0.05) in serum from OA patients compared to controls: C3, ITIH1 and S100A6. A panel consisting of these three proteins had an area under the curve of 0.82 for the classification of OA and control samples. Moreover, C3 and ITIH1 levels were also found to be significantly elevated (P < 0.05) in OA patients compared to RA patients. Upon validation in additional study sets, the alterations of these three candidate serum biomarker proteins could support the diagnosis of radiographic knee OA.