Current concepts in articular cartilage repair

Medical ozone therapy as a potential treatment modality for regeneration of damaged articular cartilage in osteoarthritis

“…Arthroscopic lavage washes out loose cartilage, inflammatory mediators and collagen debris that can be present in the synovium causing synovitis and effusion (Falah et al, 2010). The debridement of cartilage (chondroplasty) aims to remove loose chondral flaps and fibrillated articular cartilage to a smoother surface while avoiding any damage to the healthy surrounding cartilage (Rambani and Venkatesh, 2014). Debridement chondroplasty can be done using several techniques including curettage, and mechanical debridement with a shaver; however this technique does not leave smooth cartilage and may cause further cartilage breakdown (Falah et al, 2010).…”

“…Articular cartilage is a specialized connective tissue covering the joint surfaces that has no nerve supply and is therefore susceptible to early injuries (Rambani and Venkatesh, 2014). It is a hyaline cartilage characterized by a compact collagen network and extracellular matrix made up of proteoglycan, and is highly resistant to mechanical loads (Sato et al, 2014).…”

“…The treatment of injured articular cartilage poses a major challenge to orthopedic surgeons because of its limited self-healing capacity. To date, there is no universally accepted successful treatment for injured or damaged articular cartilage (Rambani and Venkatesh, 2014).…”

Raman Spectroscopy-based Analysis of Cartilage Composition with Applications in Finite Element Modeling

“…The lubricating properties of this fluid are mainly due to the presence of glycoproteins like hyaluronate and lubricin [1,10,12,13]. The synovial fluid also serves as the primary medium of nutrient delivery for the cartilage cells due to their lack of a direct blood supply [14]. This lack of direct blood supply means cartilage is limited in its healing capacity.…”

“…Water content reaches its maximum (90% wet mass) near the bearing surface before dropping and maintaining approximately 75% of the wet mass in the middle and deep zones [22]. The chondrocytes distributed throughout these regions begin with an elliptical shape in the superficial zone and gradually transition to a spherical shape in the deep zone [14]. These chondrocytes embed themselves in the ECM through the less stiff pericellular matrix (PCM) with an approximate thickness of 3-4 µm [23].…”