Randomized controlled study of proximal fibular osteotomy (PFO) with or without trabeculotomy in early osteoarthritis (OA) knee

This study was conducted to evaluate and compare the clinical and functional outcome of OA knee patients treated with proximal fibular osteotomy with or without trabeculotomy.This was a randomized controlled study amongst patients of osteoarthritis knee for a period of 1 year on patients with early osteoarthritis of knee. All patients were randomly allocated into two groups; group 1 patients were managed using PFO with trabeculotomy whereas group 2 patients were managed with proximal fibular osteotomy alone. All the patients were followed up post operatively at 15 days and at 2, 6 and 12 months post operatively. At each follow up patients were assessed for presence of Pain using Visual analogue scale. Also functional outcome was assessed using WOMAC.In present study, patients of two groups were comparable in their base line characters (p>0.05). Post operatively, mean VAS score and WOMAC score improved significantly in both the groups, the improvement was significantly higher in group 1 as compared to group 2 at all the follow up (p<0.05).Proximal fibular osteotomy with or without trabeculotomy can be used effectively as a promising tool for management of cases with early osteoarthritis of knee. It is safe, effective, and cost effective surgical technique for pain relief and improving functional outcome. PFO with trabeculotomy yields better results in terms of clinical as well as functional outcome as compared to PFO without trabeculotomy.

Runx1 protects against the pathological progression of osteoarthritis

Runt-related transcription factor-1 (Runx1) is required for chondrocyte-to-osteoblast lineage commitment by enhancing both chondrogenesis and osteogenesis during vertebrate development. However, the potential role of Runx1 in joint diseases is not well known. In the current study, we aimed to explore the role of Runx1 in osteoarthritis induced by anterior cruciate ligament transaction (ACLT) surgery. We showed that chondrocyte-specific Runx1 knockout (Runx1f/fCol2a1-Cre) aggravated cartilage destruction by accelerating the loss of proteoglycan and collagen II in early osteoarthritis. Moreover, we observed thinning and ossification of the growth plate, a decrease in chondrocyte proliferative capacity and the loss of bone matrix around the growth plate in late osteoarthritis. We overexpressed Runx1 by adeno-associated virus (AAV) in articular cartilage and identified its protective effect by slowing the destruction of osteoarthritis in cartilage in early osteoarthritis and alleviating the pathological progression of growth plate cartilage in late osteoarthritis. ChIP-seq analysis identified new targets that interacted with Runx1 in cartilage pathology, and we confirmed the direct interactions of these factors with Runx1 by ChIP-qPCR. This study helps us to understand the function of Runx1 in osteoarthritis and provides new clues for targeted osteoarthritis therapy.

Tips and tricks of meniscal repair

With the well-established fact that meniscectomy predisposes patients to early osteoarthritis, there has been an increase in the incidence of meniscal repairs in recent years, even in active older patients, and in avascular zones. Although many techniques have been described for meniscal repair, even experienced surgeons face difficulties in certain scenarios. In this technical note, we present some techniques to facilitate the arthroscopic treatment of meniscal repair in general and introduce some novel techniques in some special scenarios.