Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0851184 (thinning)
 11,252 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Five cases of hemochromatosis arthropathy are presented and the distinctive radiological features of the disease are described. Although the condition is typically degenerative, showing subchondral cyst formation, sclerosis, and thinning of cartilage, its distribution is characteristic. Selective degenerative changes of the second and third metacarpophalangeal joints are striking, particularly in the hands, while abnormalities in the intercarpal joints are variable and the interphalangeal joints are spared. Chondrocalcinosis involving both fibrous and hyaline cartilage is frequently seen as well, particularly in the large joints. The calcification is due to deposition of calcium pyrophosphate crystals, perhaps resulting from iron inhibition of pyrophosphatase.
 ...
PMID:The arthropathy of hemochromatosis. 17 96

The light-microscopic and ultrastructural characteristics of the temporomandibular joints (TMJs) of female STR/IN mice, aged from 3 to 12 months, were studied. Every TMJ of an adult mouse starts to degenerate in early adulthood and subsequently suffers from osteo-arthrosis. Ageing of the TMJ is characterized by thinning out of its cartilaginous components. The chondrocytes are no longer distributed regularly in the ground substance but form clusters. Cracks and fissures invade the condylar cartilage and lead to the formation of cartilage islands, which finally become loose as free bodies in the lower joint chamber and joint capsule. The lower joint chamber diminishes, but no ankylosis is observed. Ultrastructurally, the number of vesicles around the degenerated chondrocytes increases. Aged chondrocytes contain more lysosomes. The condylar surface becomes irregular and reveals microscars. Its surface is covered by an electron-dense fine granular material, considered to be built up by proteoglycans. Compared to the male ICR mouse, the osteo-arthrotic destruction of the cartilage, the subchondral sclerosis and the deformation of the underlying bone exhibit only minor states in the female STR/IN mouse. Concerning the aetiology and pathogenesis, the very early degeneration of the mostly unloaded TMJ seems to be based on a genetically altered composition of the articular cartilage, possibly due to failing articular chondrocyte responses to stimuli connected with degeneration and repair.
 ...
PMID:Age-related osteo-arthrotic degeneration of the temporomandibular joint in the mouse. 228 96

We examined the subchondral bone architecture of the femoral head in relation to trabecular microfracture. Three groups of femoral head specimens were studied. Twenty-eight specimens taken during hip replacement had grade III or IV arthrosis (70 +/- 8 years). From autopsy, 40 femoral heads were obtained, 18 in a group greater than 50 years of age (72 +/- 10 years) and 22 in a group less than 50 years of age (25 +/- 11 years). None of these 40 heads had worse than grade II arthrosis. Coronal slices of the femoral heads were macerated and examined under a dissecting microscope to count trabecular microfractures. For bone histomorphometry, blocks were taken from the subchondral principal compressive and tensile trabeculae. The bone volume, trabecular thickness, and marrow space were quantified. In the subchondral principal compressive region, the arthrotic group had more bone volume, thicker trabeculae, similar trabecular space, and trabecular microfractures when compared with the group greater than 50 years old. In the tensile region, there were no differences except for decreased trabecular microfracture number in the arthrotic group. With the thinnest trabeculae in the compressive region occurring in the greater than 50 years old group, the trabeculae of the younger age group have thinned with age, but with the onset of arthrosis, the thinning is overtaken by pathologic thickening of trabeculae.
 ...
PMID:Microfractures in coxarthrosis. 240 78

Local calcergy is an ectopic calcification reaction (due to hydroxyapatite formation) induced in connective tissue sites by the application of dilute solutions of certain metallic salts (calcergens). The phenomenon is usually produced in the subcutaneous tissues of the experimental animal. The single intra-articular injection of lead acetate (PbAc) solution (a known calcergen) into the knee joint of the rat is followed by opacity of the synovial membrane and para-articular tissues with the aggregation of macrophages and multinucleated giant cells and the formation of some granulation tissue. This lesion ultimately resolves and there is no cartilaginous degeneration. Repeated intra-articular injections of PbAc produce pronounced changes in the synovium and para-articular tissues. There is extensive calcific deposition with exuberant macrophage and giant cell accumulation and fibroblastic proliferation. The proliferated synovial membrance becomes adherent to articular cartilage. There is thinning and fragmentation of the latter with focal loss and replacement by fibrous tissue. Therefore, in contrast to the effects of a single injection, repeated calcergenic stimulation of the knee joint is associated with a destructive arthropathy.
 ...
PMID:Intra-articular calcergy and its arthropathic sequelae. 669 51

There are many theories concerning the etiology of chondromalacia patellae, as well as many points which have not been fully investigated yet. Using rabbits experimentally, shortening and elongation of the 3 mm patellar ligament were performed, producing the changes of contact surface and pressure on the patellar cartilage, and the patellar cartilage and the subchondral bone were studied sequentially. In the group of shortening, after the course of 16 weeks, no particular changes were recognized in the cartilage and the subchondral bone, compared with the control. In the group with elongation, 2-4 weeks after the operation, thinning of the trabecular and the subchondral bone, proliferation of blood vessels in the subchondral bone and their invasion into the calcified cartilage, were seen, without abnormality in the articular cartilage. After 4 weeks, irregularity or disappearance of the tide mark and degeneration of the ground substance toward the deep layer of the cartilage began to be recognized. After 8 weeks fasciculation was produced in the ground substance from the deep to the middle layers of the cartilage. After 12 weeks, degeneration extended to the superficial layer of the cartilage, producing blister formation, fibrillation and fissura, and finally proceeding to the desquamation of the superficial layer, degeneration and decrease in the thickness of the cartilage. These findings are similar to the histological findings of chondromalacia patellae, and seem to be different from those of arthrosis deformans in the bony changes. It is further suggested that decrease of contact surface and pressure on the cartilage can be considered to be one of the causes for chondromalacia patellae.
 ...
PMID:[Experimental study of chondromalacia patellae (author's transl)]. 733 51

Patients with spontaneous neck pain, headache, dizziness and/or pain to the upper limbs are frequently observed. Common cervicodynia, due to the involvement of arthromuscular structures of the cervical spine, was diagnosed in the patients with these symptoms in the absence of trauma or neurologic signs. The authors investigated the clinical-radiologic correlation in a series of 130 symptomatic patients and considered it a metameric disorder. The frequent association of many radiographic signs at the same level often prevents single radiographic signs from being assessed individually; therefore, the authors selected some patients with just one radiographic change per functional unit, to assess its relationship with clinical symptoms. The patients underwent anteroposterior, lateral and functional (flexion-extension) radiographs of the cervical spine. Vertebral rotation, detected on antero-posterior views as a spinous process deviation, was the most frequent isolated sign (79/130 cases) per metameric level, with strong clinical correlation (70/79 cases). Vertebral rotation was probably due to unilateral muscular stiffness. Other single radiologic signs per functional unit with strong clinical correlation follow: atloaxial rotation (13/130 with clinical-radiologic agreement of 12/13), functional blockage (13/130 with clinical-radiologic agreement of 11/13), angular flexion (21/130 with clinical-radiologic agreement of 19/21) and overall disc space thinning (12/130 with clinical-radiologic agreement of 10/12). Atloaxial rotation is represented as an asymmetry of the spaces between the odontoid and the lateral masses of the atlas; functional blockage consists of insufficient or lacking physiological width of the occipito-atlantoid or interspinous space in functional tests. Angular flexion consists of a single flexion angle of the cervical spine in functional tests; two or more angles indicate normal flexion of the cervical spine. This study confirmed the poorer clinical impact of degenerative changes, mostly interapophyseal arthrosis, than of other radiologic signs. Interapophyseal arthrosis alone was isolated in single functional units in 46/130 patients, mostly at C7-D1, with clinical-radiologic agreement in 19/46 patients. Clinical-radiologic correlation proved the high diagnostic value of anteroposterior, lateral and functional radiographs of the cervical spine in common cervicodynia, which make them a valuable tool for the clinician.
 ...
PMID:[Clinico-radiologic correlations in common neck pain]. 869 21

Most measures taken to prevent atherosclerosis still aim at lowering the cholesterol content of the plasma lipoproteins by dietary and pharmacological means. This approach has only proved successful to a limited extent. Diseases secondary to atherosclerosis are still the commonest cause of death in western industrialized countries. As all metabolic processes are regulated by opposing processes of equilibrium, i.e. by processes directed towards performance and recovery, we asked ourselves whether the fatty degeneration and sclerosis of the arteries could be causally related to a continuous dysregulation of these processes. We consider this to be the case, with a continuous deficiency of glycosaminoglycans (heparin, heparinoids) on the endothelial surface of the vessels. Numerous studies indicate that in the case of thinning of the anionic glycosaminoglycan film on the endothelial surface, the lipoprotein-lipase and antithrombin III activity induced by heparin is reduced, as result of which hyperlipoproteinaemia and increased tendency to thrombosis can only by compensated for to an inadequate extent. The formation of glycosaminoglycans is a characteristic of all mesenchymal cells, whereby the exogenous introduction of glycosaminoglycans into the extracellular space is of decisive importance for adequate glycosaminoglycan synthesis. Since Engelberg reported outstanding results obtained with heparin injections in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerotic disorders of the cardiac circulation, we considered it appropriate to use the well-proven dietary supplement of glycosaminoglycans in rheumatology, in the treatment of arthrosis, as well as in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.
 ...
PMID:The pathogenesis and prevention of atherosclerosis. 895 6

The aim of our study was to correlate MRI with histologic findings in normal and degenerative cartilage. Twenty-two human knees derived from patients undergoing amputation were examined with 1.0- and 1. 5-T MR imaging units. Firstly, we optimized two fat-suppressed 3D gradient-echo sequences. In this pilot study two knees were examined with fast imaging with steady precession (FISP) sequences and fast low-angle shot (FLASH, SPGR) sequence by varying the flip angles (40, 60, 90 degrees) and combining each flip angle with different echo time (7, 10 or 11, 20 ms). We chose the sequences with the best visual contrast between the cartilage layers and the best measured contrast-to-noise ratio between cartilage and bone marrow. Therefore, we used a 3D FLASH fat-saturated sequence (TR/TE/flip angle = 50/11 ms/40 degrees) and a 3D FISP fat-saturated sequence (TR/TE/flip angle = 40/10 ms/40 degrees) for cartilage imaging in 22 human knees. The images were obtained at various angles of the patellar cartilage in relation to the main magnetic field (0, 55, 90 degrees). The MR appearances were classified into five categories: normal, intracartilaginous signal changes, diffuse thinning (cartilage thickness < 3 mm), superficial erosions, and cartilage ulcers. After imaging, the knees were examined macroscopically and photographed. In addition, we performed histologic studies using light microscopy with several different stainings, polarization, and dark field microscopy as well as electron microscopy. The structural characteristics with the cartilage lesions were correlated with the MR findings. We identified a hyperintense superficial zone in the MR image which did not correlate to the histologically identifiable superficial zone. The second lamina was hypointense on MRI and correlated to the bulk of the radial zone. The third (or deep) cartilage lamina in the MR image seemed to represent the combination of the lowest portion of the radial zone and the calcified cartilage. The width of the hypointense second zone correlated weakly to the accumulation of proteoglycans in the radial zone. The trilaminar MRI appearance of the cartilage was only visible when the cartilage was thicker than 2 mm. In cartilage degeneration, we found either a diffuse thinning of all layers or circumscribed lesions ("cartilage ulcer") of these cartilage layers in the MR images. Early cartilage degeneration was indicated by a signal loss in the superficial zone, correlating to the histologically proven damage of proteoglycans in the transitional and radial zone along with destruction of the superficial zone. We found a strong effect of cartilage rotation in the main magnetic field, too. A rotation of the cartilage structures caused considerable variation in the signal intensity of the second lamina. Cartilage segments in a 55 degreesangle to the magnetic main field had a homogeneous appearance, not a trilaminar appearance. The signal behavior of hyaline articular cartilage does not reflect the laminar histologic structure. Osteoarthrosis and cartilage degeneration are visible on MR images as intracartilaginous signal changes, superficial erosions, diffuse cartilage thinning, and cartilage ulceration.
 ...
PMID:Human articular cartilage: in vitro correlation of MRI and histologic findings. 972 23

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a complex process affecting many different joint areas in the body. From a pathophysiological point of view some features are crucial for the diagnosis, such as cartilage fibrillation and thinning, subchondral sclerosis and the presence of osteophytes. From a clinical perspective, OA is the most prevalent rheumatic joint disorder, causing pain and stiffness of the joints and, for the individual, impaired function and health status. The aim of this chapter is to present current knowledge of definitions of OA, its presence in different populations and in different joint areas (the back excluded). Furthermore, methods of diagnosing and delineating clinically relevant forms of OA, now and in the future, are presented as well as current knowledge of the risk factors for developing and the factors for preventing OA.
 ...
PMID:Osteoarthritis of the peripheral joints. 1247 71

Compressive mechanical stress-induced cartilage thinning has been characterized as a key step in the progression of temporomandibular joint diseases, such as osteoarthritis. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying this loss have not been thoroughly studied. Here, we used an established animal model for loading compressive mechanical stress to induce cartilage thinning in vivo. The mechanically stressed mandibular chondrocytes were then isolated to screen potential candidates using a proteomics approach. A total of 28 proteins were identified that were directly or indirectly associated with endoplasmic reticulum stress, including protein disulfide-isomerase, calreticulin, translationally controlled tumor protein, and peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans-isomerase protein. The altered expression of these candidates was validated at both the mRNA and protein levels. The induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress by mechanical stress loading was confirmed by the activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress markers, the elevation of the cytoplasmic Ca(2+) level, and the expansion of endoplasmic reticulum membranes. More importantly, the use of a selective inhibitor to block endoplasmic reticulum stress in vivo reduced the apoptosis observed at the early stages of mechanical stress loading and inhibited the proliferation observed at the later stages of mechanical stress loading. Accordingly, the use of the inhibitor significantly restored cartilage thinning. Taken together, these results demonstrated that endoplasmic reticulum stress is significantly activated in mechanical stress-induced mandibular cartilage thinning and, more importantly, that endoplasmic reticulum stress inhibition alleviates this loss, suggesting a novel pharmaceutical strategy for the treatment of mechanical stress-induced temporomandibular joint diseases.
...
PMID:Endoplasmic reticulum stress regulates rat mandibular cartilage thinning under compressive mechanical stress. 2360 5


1 2 Next >>