2015 ISAKOS Biennial Congress ePoster #1607
Degenerative Meniscus Root Tears Accompany Fibrocartilage Formation and Calcification in Osteoarthritic Knees
Do-Young Park, MD, PhD, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
Jun-Young Chung, MD, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
Byoung-Hyun Min, MD, PhD, Suwon, Gyeonggi-Do KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Kyounggi-do, KOREA
FDA Status Not Applicable
Summary: Formation of fibrocartilage, which is less resistant to tensile forces compared to normal ligament tissue, may play a pivotal role during pathogenesis of degenerative meniscal root tears.
Abstract:
Objective. Fibrocartilage formation in tendons and ligaments is both an adaptive mechanism to compression as well as a pathologic feature during degeneration. Meniscal roots are unique ligaments that resist multidirectional forces, especially compression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pathomechanism of degenerative medial meniscus posterior root tears among osteoarthritic knees with emphasis on fibrocartilage.
Methods. Samples of medial meniscus posterior roots were harvested from cadavers and patients during knee replacement surgery and grouped as follows; normal reference, no tear, partial tear, and complete tear. Degeneration and associated features such as fibrocartilage and calcification were histologically as well as biochemically analyzed according to tear extent. Uniaxial tensile tests were done on specimens with and without fibrocartilage and resulting tears were histologically analyzed. Quantifiable data was statistically analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn’s comparison test.
Results. One hundred samples from 78 patients were used. Thirty, 28, and 42 samples were allocated in no tear, partial tear, and complete tear group, respectively. Fibrocartilage and calcification increased within root matrices according to tear extent. Tear margins of harvested samples, as well as tensile test-induced tear samples showed distinctive ‘crack-like’ tears within regions of fibrocartilage.
Conclusion. Fibrocartilage and calcification, which impair ligament’s resistance to tension, may play a pivotal role during pathogenesis of degenerative meniscal root tears. These findings offer a human ligament model that defines the relationship between fibrocartilage formation and degenerative tear.