Osteoarthritis overview
|
Osteoarthritis Microchapters |
|
Diagnosis |
|---|
|
Treatment |
|
Case Studies |
|
Osteoarthritis overview On the Web |
|
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Osteoarthritis overview |
|
Risk calculators and risk factors for Osteoarthritis overview |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Osteoarthritis / Osteoarthrosis (OA, also known as degenerative arthritis, degenerative joint disease, arthrosis or in more colloquial terms "wear and tear"), is a condition in which low-grade inflammation results in pain in the joints, caused by wearing of the cartilage that covers and acts as a cushion inside joints. As the bone surfaces become less well protected by cartilage, the patient experiences pain upon weight bearing, including walking and standing. Due to decreased movement because of the pain, regional muscles may atrophy, and ligaments may become more lax. OA is the most common form of arthritis. The word is derived from the Greek word "osteo", meaning "of the bone", "arthro", meaning "joint", and "itis", meaning inflammation, although many sufferers have little or no inflammation.
OA affects nearly 21 million people in the United States, accounting for 25% of visits to primary care physicians, and half of all NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) prescriptions. It is estimated that 80% of the population will have radiographic evidence of OA by age 65, although only 60% of those will be symptomatic.[1] Treatment is with NSAIDs, local injections of glucocorticoid or hyaluronan, and in severe cases, with joint replacement surgery. Many physicians have also reported good pain relief by treating ligaments (which connect bone to bone) with Prolotherapy. There has been no cure for OA, as cartilage has not been induced to regenerate. However, if OA is caused by cartilage damage (for example as a result of an injury) Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation may be a possible treatment. Clinical trials employing tissue-engineering methods have demonstrated regeneration of cartilage in damaged knees, including those that had progressed to osteoarthritis.[2] Further, in January 2007, Johns Hopkins University was offering to license a technology of this kind, listing several clinical competitors in its market analysis.
References
- ↑ Green GA. Understanding NSAIDS: from aspirin to COX-2. Clin Cornerstone 2001; 3:50-59. PMID 11464731.
- ↑ Hollander AP, Dickinson SC, Sims TJ; et al. (2006). "Maturation of tissue engineered cartilage implanted in injured and osteoarthritic human knees". Tissue Eng. 12 (7): 1787–98. doi:10.1089/ten.2006.12.1787. PMID 16889509.