Osteoarthritis

Risk factors

Impaired mobility is one of the most dangerous geriatric syndromes, as it is a consequence of chronic pain, frequent falls and fractures. This was announced in April 2022 by Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Laboratory of the Musculoskeletal System of the N.I. Pirogov "Anton Naumov.

The results of the Russian epidemiological study Eucalyptus showed that among the population of people aged 60-65 years, chronic pain is present in almost 90% of the population. Osteoarthritis is observed in 67% of the population of this age.

"Osteoarthritis for the elderly is always significantly worse physical functioning, associated primarily with reduced mobility. If we turn to official international documents on the study of chronic pain, then they say a lot about preventive methods. The most important preventive measures are an increase in physical activity, proper nutrition, the exclusion of excessive consumption of tobacco and alcohol, "said Professor Naumov.

The main clinical risk factors associated with the progression and development of osteoarthritis: age, obesity, insufficient or excessive physical activity, bad habits, late medical attention. According to the professor, often due to a very complex and extensive set of exercises that experts recommend, the patient loses motivation and desire to perform them. At the same time, it is enough to regularly perform no more than three effective exercises that should be available to the patient.

"Now osteoarthritis is no longer considered in terms of cartilage pathology, but in terms of bone tissue. The preservation and density of bone tissue is not only a problem of osteoporosis, as mentioned earlier, it is also a problem of osteoarthritis, where smoking and alcohol consumption are serious risk factors. The risk of osteoporosis in smokers is three times higher than in non-smokers, "said Anton Naumov.

Complications and mortality

Osteoarthritis causes severe pain, mortality in osteoarthritis is primarily associated with pain syndrome. During this disease, many dangerous complications develop both from the gastrointestinal tract and from the cardiovascular system.

2024: Innovative tissue imaging method developed that will transform transplantology

On September 9, 2024, a team of researchers from King's College London announced the development of an innovative non-invasive method for imaging deeply located tissues. The technology is expected to improve cartilage transplantation by laying the foundation for treating osteoarthritis. Read more here

2023

First started to cure osteoarthritis

On November 3, 2023, it became known about a breakthrough in the study of osteoarthritis. Scientists have found that ostearthritis is caused by a lack of chondrogenic progenitor cells (CP cells) that produce the Gremlin 1 protein (Grem-1). The results of the study are published in the journal Nature Communications.

The scientists conducted the study on mice, which they surgically caused osteoarthritis, destroying the knee joint of adult animals. The scientists concluded that cells with the Grem1 protein contribute to the formation of the articular cells of newborns and are crucial for their maintenance in adulthood. Loss of these cells in adulthood leads to osteoarthritis.

It became known about a breakthrough in the study of osteoarthritis

Thus, damage or insufficient reserves of joint cells followed by cell apoptosis and subsequent failure of articular cartilage regeneration pre-decompose to the appearance of osteoarthritis in humans, which defines OA as a cellular disease caused by the loss of CP cells with Grem1 protein.

One important regulator of chondrogenesis is the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathway. Scientists investigated the effect of introducing FGF18 - on Grem1 + cells in vivo. They showed in mice that intra-articular administration of FGF18 significantly increased the number of proliferating Grem1 + cells in adult animals. Thus, osteoarthritis can get its first method of treatment.

Osteoarthritis affects all tissues in the joint, leading to pain, instability, and difficulty using the joint. Up to this point, osteoarthritis had no treatment, doctors recommended only lifestyle changes and painkillers.

Osteoarthritis usually occurs due to trauma, aging, and constant mechanical stress. Previous studies have reported that skeletal stem cells are responsible for bone production, stroma, cartilage, but not the fat layer, which develops separately.^[1]

A device has been created in Russia to diagnose the most common joint disease at an early stage

On July 11, 2023, Sechenov University announced the creation of a device to assess the state of cartilage tissue during arthroscopy. According to the developers, the new device allows you to objectively measure the degree of cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis using spectroscopy methods. Read more here.

NUST MISIS developed a prototype knee implant

The prototype of a biocompatible bone-cartilage implant of the knee joint was developed by young scientists at NUST MISIS. The university announced this to Zdrav.Expert on June 23, 2023. The proposed technology will improve engraftment and establish the production of products for the Russian market. The development is presented as a diploma project of a graduate of the specialized iPhD program "Biomaterial Science."

Diseases of the knee joint are one of the main causes of adult disability. According to population Russia official statistics, osteoarthritis of the knee joint, in which about 4.5 million people suffer, but the real number of patients reaches 15 million. More. here

Moximed gets FDA approval to sell implantable knee shock absorber

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2023 issued permission to the American company Moximed to sell an implantable knee shock absorber MISHA Knee System, designed for use by patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee joint. As noted, the system became the first implantable shock absorber for patients with this diagnosis approved by the regulator. Read more here.

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