Appropriately powered randomized controlled trials reporting clinical and imaging-related outcomes in patients undergoing arthroscopic minimally invasive procedures and meniscal suturing should be performed. Comparing imaging findings of patients undergoing arthroscopic partial and open meniscectomy, a lower incidence of knee osteoarthritic evolution was detected after arthroscopy. The amount of removed meniscus is the most important predictor factor for the development of osteoarthritis. Minimally invasive procedures seem to reduce the incidence of long-term osteoarthritic changes of the knee compared with more invasive open and or arthroscopic procedures.
Low back pain (LBP) in one of the most disabling symptoms affecting nearly 80% of the population worldwide. Its primary cause seems to be intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD): a chronic and progressive process characterized by loss of viable cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) breakdown within the intervertebral disc (IVD) especially in its inner region, the nucleus pulposus (NP). Over the last decades, innovative biological treatments have been investigated in order to restore the original healthy IVD environment and achieve disc regeneration. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been widely exploited in regenerative medicine for their capacity to be easily harvested and be able to differentiate along the osteogenic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic lineages and to secrete a wide range of trophic factors that promote tissue homeostasis along with immunomodulation and anti-inflammation. Several in vitro and preclinical studies have demonstrated that MSCs are able to acquire a NP cell-like phenotype and to synthesize structural components of the ECM as well as trophic and anti-inflammatory mediators that may support resident cell activity. However, due to its unique anatomical location and function, the IVD presents distinctive features: avascularity, hypoxia, low glucose concentration, low pH, hyperosmolarity, and mechanical loading. Such conditions establish a hostile microenvironment for both resident and exogenously administered cells, which limited the efficacy of intradiscal cell therapy in diverse investigations. This review is aimed at describing the characteristics of the healthy and degenerated IVD microenvironment and how such features influence both resident cells and MSC viability and biological activity. Furthermore, we focused on how recent research has tried to overcome the obstacles coming from the IVD microenvironment by developing innovative cell therapies and functionalized bioscaffolds.
Purpose. In the last few years, evidence has emerged to support the possible association between increased BMI and susceptibility to some musculoskeletal diseases. We systematically review the literature to clarify whether obesity is a risk factor for the onset of tendinopathy. Methods. We searched PubMed, Cochrane Central, and Embase Biomedical databases using the keywords “obesity,” “overweight,” and “body mass index” linked in different combinations with the terms “tendinopathy,” “tendinitis,” “tendinosis,” “rotator cuff,” “epicondylitis,” “wrist,” “patellar,” “quadriceps,” “Achilles,” “Plantar Fascia,” and “tendon.” Results. Fifteen studies were included. No level I study on this subject was available, and the results provided are ambiguous. However, all the 5 level II studies report the association between obesity measured in terms of BMI and tendon conditions, with OR ranging between 1.9 (95% CI: 1.1–2.2) and 5.6 (1.9–16.6). Conclusions. The best evidence available to date indicates that obesity is a risk factor for tendinopathy. Nevertheless, further studies should be performed to establish the real strength of the association for each type of tendinopathy, especially because the design of the published studies does not allow identifying a precise cause-effect relationship and the specific role of obesity independently of other metabolic conditions.
When faced with ACL deficiency, physiological age, condition of the knee at the time of examination, life expectancy and activity level are probably more important than chronologic age. In the present study, arthroscopic surgery for the management of ACL tear and secondary lesions provides comparable clinical outcomes in middle-aged patients and in patients aged below 30.
Biomechanical and clinical studies demonstrate that surgical repair of acute, traumatic meniscal root injuries fully restores the biomechanical features of the menisci, leading to pain relief and functional improvement. The current available surgical techniques for the meniscal root repair (suture anchors and pullout repair) are comparable. Level of evidence IV.
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