Clinical Research Center, National Hospital Organization Kyoto Medical Center, Kyoto, Japan.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Japan Baptist Medical Foundation, Kyoto, Japan.
Cartilage. 2023 Sep;14(3):261-268. doi: 10.1177/19476035231154509. Epub 2023 Feb 14.
The objective of the study was to evaluate the mechanical properties of living human knee cartilage using our ultrasonic device, and to compare the measurements with respect to cartilage degeneration and aging.
A total of 95 knees which had undergone arthroscopic knee surgery, from 88 patients, were included in the study, with informed consent. All procedures were reviewed and approved by the ethical committee of our hospital. In the study group, there were 41 men, 47 women, 39 right knees, and 56 left knees. The conditions primarily included knee osteoarthritis and anterior cruciate ligament rupture. The mean operative age was 44.1 years old (range = 10-83). We compared mechanical properties of the knee cartilage with respect to aging and gender, in comparison with normal cartilage. A value of <0.05 represented statistical significance.
In the context of the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) classification of cartilage degeneration (grade 0-3), the signal intensity in grade 0 was significantly larger than that in grade 1, 2, or 3. The thickness in grade 0 was significantly higher than that in grade 1, 2, or 3. Normal cartilage in older women had the lowest signal intensity and the least cartilage thickness among all the groups.
The ultrasonic system we developed was able to detect early degenerative changes in living cartilage in knees. The lowest signal intensity and least cartilage thickness in normal cartilage among older women were correlated to a large prevalence of knee osteoarthritis in women.
Level IV, case series.
本研究旨在使用我们的超声设备评估活体人膝关节软骨的力学性能，并比较其与软骨退变和老化的相关性。
共纳入 88 例患者 95 例接受关节镜膝关节手术的膝关节，均获得知情同意。所有程序均经我院伦理委员会审查和批准。在研究组中，男性 41 例，女性 47 例，右侧膝关节 39 例，左侧膝关节 56 例。主要疾病包括膝关节骨关节炎和前交叉韧带撕裂。平均手术年龄为 44.1 岁（范围=10-83）。我们比较了膝关节软骨的力学特性与年龄和性别之间的关系，并与正常软骨进行了比较。<0.05 表示具有统计学意义。
根据国际软骨修复学会（ICRS）软骨退变分级（0-3 级），0 级的信号强度明显大于 1 级、2 级或 3 级。0 级的厚度明显大于 1 级、2 级或 3 级。所有组中，老年女性的正常软骨的信号强度最低，软骨厚度最小。
我们开发的超声系统能够检测膝关节活体软骨的早期退行性改变。老年女性正常软骨中信号强度最低、软骨厚度最小与女性膝关节骨关节炎的高发病率相关。
IV 级，病例系列。
