The Impact of Trace Elements on Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive degenerative disease characterized by cartilage degradation, synovial inflammation, subchondral sclerosis and osteophyte formation. It has a multifactorial etiology with potential contributions from heredity, endocrine function, abnormal mechanical load and nutrition. Of particular considerations are trace element status. Several trace elements, such as boron and magnesium are essential for normal development of the bone and joint in human. While cadmium correlates with the severity of OA. The present review focuses on the roles of trace elements (boron, cadmium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, selenium, zinc) in OA and explores the mechanisms by which they act.

The Emerging Role of Non-Coding RNAs in Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OS) is the most frequent degenerative condition in the joints, disabling many adults. Several abnormalities in the articular cartilage, subchondral bone, synovial tissue, and meniscus have been detected in the course of OA. Destruction of articular cartilage, the formation of osteophytes, subchondral sclerosis, and hyperplasia of synovial tissue are hallmarks of OA. More recently, several investigations have underscored the regulatory roles of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in OA development. Different classes of non-coding RNAs, including long ncRNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs), have been reported to affect the development of OA. The expression level of these transcripts has also been used as diagnostic tools in OA. In the present article, we aimed at reporting the role of these transcripts in this process. We need to give a specific angle on the pathology to provide meaningful thoughts on it.

Increased radiographic progression of distal hand osteoarthritis occurring during biologic DMARD monotherapy for concomitant rheumatoid arthritis

Objectives A considerable proportion of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) also suffer from hand osteoarthritis (OA). We here assess the association between conventional synthetic (cs) and biological (b) disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and radiographic distal interphalangeal-(DIP) OA in patients with RA. Methods Adult RA patients from a longitudinal Swiss registry of rheumatic diseases who had ≥ 2 hand radiographs were included at the first radiograph and followed until the outcome or the last radiograph. Patients were grouped into two cohorts based on whether DIP OA was present or absent at cohort entry (cohorts 1 and 2, respectively). Modified Kellgren-Lawrence scores (KLS) were obtained by evaluating DIP joints for the severity of osteophytes, joint space narrowing, subchondral sclerosis, and erosions. KLS ≥ 2 in ≥ 1 DIP joint indicated incident or existing OA, and increase of ≥ 1 in KLS in ≥ 1 DIP joint indicated progression in existing DIP OA. Time-varying Cox regression and generalized estimating equation (GEE) analyses were performed. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) of DIP OA incidence (cohort 2), or progression (cohort 1), in bDMARD monotherapy, bDMARD/csDMARD combination therapy, and past or never DMARD use, when compared to csDMARD use. In post hoc analyses, we descriptively and analytically assessed the individual KLS features in cohort 1. Results Among 2234 RA patients with 5928 radiographs, 1340 patients had DIP OA at baseline (cohort 1). Radiographic progression of DIP OA was characterized by new or progressive osteophyte formation (666, 52.4%), joint space narrowing (379, 27.5%), subchondral sclerosis (238, 17.8%), or erosions (62, 4.3%). bDMARD monotherapy had an increased risk of radiographic DIP OA progression compared to csDMARD monotherapy (adjusted HR 1.34 [95% CI 1.07–1.69]). The risk was not significant in csDMARD/bDMARD combination users (HR 1.12 [95% CI 0.96–1.31]), absent in past DMARD users (HR 0.96 [95% CI 0.66–1.41]), and significantly lower among never DMARD users (HR 0.54 [95% CI 0.33–0.90]). Osteophyte progression (HR 1.74 [95% CI 1.11–2.74]) was the most significantly increased OA feature with bDMARD use compared to csDMARD use. In 894 patients without initial DIP OA (cohort 2), the risk of incident OA did not differ between the treatment groups. The results from GEE analyses corroborated all findings. Conclusions These real-world RA cohort data indicate that monotherapy with bDMARDs is associated with increased radiographic progression of existing DIP OA, but not with incident DIP OA.

Features of Anatomical and Functional Changes in the Patellofemoral Joint of Patients with Gonarthrosis

Summary. In 67-72% of patients with gonarthrosis, there is an angular deviation of the tibia towards the lesion. Prolonged functioning in such conditions is accompanied by patellofemoral arthrosis, in the development of which we found patterns during unicompartmental arthroplasty of the knee joint. Materials and Methods. This publication is based on the materials of a clinical and radiological examination of 106 patients with angular deviation of the tibia who were operated on using the method of unicompartmental arthroplasty. Conclusions. The degree of patellofemoral osteoarthritis is directly dependent on the duration of the disease and the magnitude of the angular deviation of the tibia. The most degenerative-dystrophic changes occur in the knee facet and the central facet, which are displaced in the projection of the patellofemoral joint, where cartilage degeneration, subchondral sclerosis with foci of bone destruction, pronounced marginal bone growths, and exostoses progress.

POS0122 THE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN DISEASE MODIFYING ANTI-RHEUMATIC DRUGS AND INCIDENT, AND PROGRESSION OF, RADIOGRAPHIC HAND OSTEOARTHRITIS IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS PATIENTS

Background:Hand osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by bone erosions, joint space remodeling, and new bone formation mainly in distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints and thereby differs from hand manifestations in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). There are conflicting data about the benefit of treatment with conventional synthetic (cs) and biologic (b) disease modifying anti-rheumatic treatment (DMARD) on DIP OA.Objectives:To assess the associations between DMARDs and incident, and progression of, radiographic DIP OA in RA patients.Methods:We performed two observational cohort studies in the longitudinal Swiss Clinical Quality Management in Rheumatic Diseases registry (SCQM) between 1997 and 2014. RA patients who had ≥2 eligible hand radiographs were included at their first eligible radiograph (baseline) and were followed until the outcome or their last eligible radiograph. Radiographs were eligible if all 8 DIP joints could be scored. Modified Kellgren-Lawrence scores (KLS) were obtained by evaluating DIP joints for severity of osteophytes, joint space narrowing, subchondral sclerosis, and erosions. Incident/existing DIP OA was defined as KLS ≥2 in ≥1 DIP joint. Progression of existing DIP OA was defined as an increase of ≥1 in KLS in ≥1 DIP joint. We divided the study population into two cohorts based on whether DIP OA was present or absent at cohort entry (cohorts 1 and 2, respectively). Exposure status was defined time-dependently into mutually exclusive exposure groups: csDMARD monotherapy, bDMARD monotherapy, bDMARD/csDMARD combination therapy, past bDMARD/csDMARD therapy, or never DMARD use. Cox time-varying proportional hazard regression analyses were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) of DIP OA progression (cohort 1) or DIP OA incidence (cohort 2) associated with DMARD exposure categories (csDMARD monotherapy was the reference group because it was the largest group). Exposure and covariate information were extracted at every radiograph and other visit date. Missing covariate information was imputed using multiple imputation by chained equations. In sensitivity analyses, we repeated all analyses using generalised estimation equations (GEE).Results:Among 2234 RA patients with 5928 eligible radiographs, 1340 patients had radiographic DIP OA at cohort entry (cohort 1) and 894 were DIP OA naïve (cohort 2). In cohort 1, radiographic progression of existing DIP OA was characterized by new osteophyte formation (666, 52.4%), followed by joint space narrowing (379, 27.5%), subchondral sclerosis (238, 17.8%), and erosion (62, 4.3%). bDMARD monotherapy was associated with an increased risk of radiographic DIP OA progression compared to csDMARD monotherapy (adjusted HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.07–1.69). The risk of DIP OA progression was not significant in csDMARD/bDMARD combination therapy users (adjusted HR 1.12, 95% CI 0.96–1.31), absent in past DMARD users (adjusted HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.66–1.41), and significantly lower among never DMARD users (adjusted HR 0.54, 95% CI 0.33–0.90), compared to csDMARD monotherapy users. In cohort 2, the risk of incident OA did not differ materially between treatment groups. Results from GEE analyses corroborated all findings.Conclusion:Our results from this real-world RA cohort suggest that monotherapy with bDMARDs is not associated with incident DIP OA but may increase the risk of radiographic progression of existing DIP OA when compared to csDMARDs.Acknowledgements:We thank all patients and rheumatologists involved for their contribution to the SCQM RA cohort. A list of rheumatology offices and hospitals that contribute to the SCQM registry can be found at http://www.scqm.ch/institutions. The SCQM is financially supported by pharmaceutical industries and donors. A list of financial supporters can be found at http://www.scqm.ch/sponsors.Disclosure of Interests:Theresa Burkard: None declared, Christian Lechtenboehmer: None declared, Stephan Reichenbach: None declared, Monika Hebeisen: None declared, Ulrich Walker: None declared, Andrea Michelle Burden: None declared, Thomas Hügle Consultant of: Pfizer, Abbvie, Novartis, Grant/research support from: GSK, Jansen, Pfizer, Abbvie, Novartis, Roche, MSD, Sanofi, BMS, Eli Lilly, UCB

Influence of pregnancy/childbirth on long-term bone marrow edema and subchondral sclerosis of sacroiliac joints

Objective To investigate long-term effects of pregnancy/childbirth on bone marrow edema (BME) and subchondral sclerosis of sacroiliac joints (SIJ) in comparison to MRI changes caused by spondyloarthritis (SpA) and assess the influence of birth method and number of children on SIJ-MRI changes. Materials and methods This is a retrospective cohort study with 349 women (mean age 47 ± 14 years) suffering low back pain. Four subgroups were formed based on SpA diagnosis and childbirth (CB) history. Two musculoskeletal radiologists scored the presence of BME and sclerosis on SIJ-MRI using the Berlin method. Further, an 11-point “global assessment score” representing the overall confidence of SpA diagnosis based on MRI was evaluated in addition to the ASAS (Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society) criterion of “positive MRI” for sacroiliitis. Results CB did not correlate with BME score (p = 0.38), whereas SpA diagnosis was associated with a higher BME score (r = 0.31, p < 0.001). Both CB (r = 0.21, p < 0.001) and SpA diagnosis (r = 0.33, p < 0.001) were correlated with a higher sclerosis score. CB was not associated with a higher confidence level in diagnosing SpA based on MRI (p = 0.07), whereas SpA diagnosis was associated with a higher score (r = 0.61, p < 0.001). Both CB (phi = 0.13, p = 0.02) and SpA diagnosis (phi = 0.23, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with a positive ASAS criterion for sacroiliitis. In non-SpA patients with CB, number of children (p = 0.001) was an independent predictor of sclerosis score, while birth method yielded no significant effect (p = 0.75). Conclusion Pregnancy/CB has no impact on long-term BME on SIJ, however, may cause long-term subchondral sclerosis—similar to SpA-associated sclerosis. Number of children is positively correlated with SIJ sclerosis. Birth method yields no effect on SIJ sclerosis.

Increased development of radiographic hip osteoarthritis in individuals with high bone mass: a prospective cohort study

Background Individuals with high bone mass (HBM) have a greater odds of prevalent radiographic hip osteoarthritis (OA), reflecting an association with bone-forming OA sub-phenotypes (e.g. osteophytosis, subchondral sclerosis). As the role of bone mineral density (BMD) in hip OA progression is unclear, we aimed to determine if individuals with HBM have increased incidence and/or progression of bone-forming OA sub-phenotypes. Methods We analysed an adult cohort with and without HBM (L1 and/or total hip BMD Z-score > + 3.2) with pelvic radiographs collected at baseline and 8-year follow-up. Sub-phenotypes were graded using the OARSI atlas. Superior/inferior acetabular/femoral osteophyte and medial/superior joint space narrowing (JSN) grades were summed and Δosteophyte and ΔJSN derived. Pain and functional limitations were quantified using the WOMAC questionnaire. Associations between HBM status and change in OA sub-phenotypes were determined using multivariable linear/logistic regression, adjusting for age, sex, height, total body fat mass, follow-up time and baseline sub-phenotype grade. Generalised estimating equations accounted for individual-level clustering. Results Of 136 individuals, 62% had HBM at baseline, 72% were female and mean (SD) age was 59 (10) years. HBM was positively associated with both Δosteophytes and ΔJSN (adjusted mean grade differences between individuals with and without HBM βosteophyte = 0.30 [0.01, 0.58], p = 0.019 and βJSN = 0.10 [0.01, 0.18], p = 0.019). Incident subchondral sclerosis was rare. HBM individuals had higher WOMAC hip functional limitation scores (β = 8.3 [0.7, 15.98], p = 0.032). Conclusions HBM is associated with the worsening of hip osteophytes and JSN over an average of 8 years, as well as increased hip pain and functional limitation.

Osteoarthritis of the hip: are degenerative tears of the acetabular labrum predictable from features on hip radiographs?

Background A common feature of hip arthritis is the presence of labra tears. Recent literature suggests against the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients aged >45 years for the assessment of hip pain related to arthritis. Purpose To determine if radiographic features of osteoarthritis detectable on routine hip radiographs are accurate and reliable surrogate markers of degenerative acetabular labral tears identified on MR arthrography (MRA) and corroborated during arthroscopy. Material and Methods A retrospective study involving 86 symptomatic patients (hip pain) with radiologic work-up included MRA and pelvic or hip radiographs that underwent hip arthroscopy within three months. Imaging characteristics assessed on hip radiographs include measurements of superior acetabular, femoral head osteophyte, cortical thickness of the femoral shaft, and minimum joint space as well as presence of subchondral sclerosis of the femoral head and acetabulum, femoral shaft buttressing, and grade of arthritis. Presence of a labral tear was determined by consensus between three readers as well as by surgical correlation. The Pearson’s chi-squared and Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare presence of labral tears with each radiographic feature. Results Seventy-one patients (82.6%) had labral tears: 49 (69%) women and 22 (31%) men. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed statistical significance ( P<0.05) between presence of a labral tear and acetabular and femoral head osteophyte sizes but failed to demonstrate any significance regarding acetabular subchondral sclerosis, cortical thickness, buttressing, or minimum joint space. Conclusions Radiographic markers such as the acetabular and femoral head osteophyte sizes demonstrated statistical significance with the presence of labral tears.

THU0492 MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF THE SACROILIAC JOINTS IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERMOBILITY: A RETROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY

Background:The incidence of inflammatory and structural lesions on magnetic resonance imaging of sacroiliac joints (MRI SIJs) in patients with hypermobility related disorders has not been fully investigated. Hypermobile patients are more susceptible to pelvic instability and biomechanical stress of the SIJs, leading to MRI SIJ changes similar to those occurring in spondyloarthritis (SpA). Patients with hypermobility and suspected SpA pose a unique challenge owing to the high prevalence of back pain in the hypermobility cohort and the absence of spinal restriction on clinical examination.Objectives:In this study, we aim to investigate the incidence of MRI SIJ lesions in patients with hypermobility.Methods:We performed a retrospective study of all patients with a confirmed diagnosis of hypermobility related disorders (including hypermobility syndrome, hypermobility spectrum disorders and Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes) referred for an MRI lumbar spine and SIJ between 2011 and 2019 to investigate long-standing back pain. MRIs were examined by a musculoskeletal (MSK) radiologist with more than 25 years of experience, who was blinded to the clinical outcome of the patients. MRI SIJs were assessed for the presence of bone marrow oedema, subchondral sclerosis, erosion, fatty change, enthesitis, ankylosis, joint fluid and capsulitis.Results:51 patients with confirmed hypermobility related disorders were referred for MRI SIJ and lumbar spine between 2011 and 2019. 3 patients demonstrated clinical features in keeping with a diagnosis of SpA and were excluded from the study. 15/48 (31.3%) of patients with hypermobility and back pain (but no clinical picture of SpA) were found to have inflammatory and/or structural lesions on MRI SIJ. The most frequent lesions were small foci of bone marrow oedema (16.6%) followed by subchondral sclerosis (12.5%) and fatty change (10.4%). The incidence of erosions was 4.2%.Conclusion:There is a relatively high incidence of inflammatory and structural lesions on MRI SIJ of patients with hypermobility. The presence of hypermobility should be taken into consideration when interpreting MRI changes in patients with suspected SpA. Further research into long-term outcomes of MRI SIJs in patients with hypermobility and back pain is required to establish the clinical significance of these findings.Disclosure of Interests: :Alexis Jones: None declared, Coziana Ciurtin Grant/research support from: Pfizer, Consultant of: Roche, Modern Biosciences, Hanadi Kazkaz: None declared, Margaret Hall-Craggs: None declared

Fabellar prevalence, degeneration and association with knee osteoarthritis in the Chinese population

The fabella is a sesamoid bone of the knee that can degenerate in some patients with osteoarthritis. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and degeneration grades of fabellae in the Chinese population and to analyse their relationships with subject ages and knee osteoarthritis grades. The anteroposterior and lateral knee roentgenograms of 1150 subjects were recruited from the institutional database. The Kellgren-Lawrence scoring system was used to evaluate knee osteoarthritis. The degeneration grades of fabellae were scored in lateral roentgenograms by screening their shapes, sizes, subchondral sclerosis and osteophyte formation. The prevalence and degeneration of fabellae among ages, genders and knee sides were analysed by the Pearson Chi-Square test, and their relationships with knee osteoarthritis were analysed by the Spearman nonparametric correlation test. The overall prevalence of fabellae was 48.6% in 1359 knees. There was no significant difference in fabellar prevalence between the two sides (χ² = 0.025, P = 0.87437) and genders (χ² = 3.647, P = 0.05617), while the prevalence increased with the increasing ages of the subjects (χ² = 213.868, P < 0.001). The fabellar degeneration grades were correlated with age (r = 0.5288, P < 0.001) and knee osteoarthritis scores (r = 0.6892, P < 0.001). These results suggested that the fabellar prevalence and degeneration grades were correlated with age and knee osteoarthritis scores.