Osteoarthritis May Be Due to Aging Chondrocytes

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http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/471652?mpid=26406

Osteoarthritis is mostly due to old age and oxidative stresses placed on

chondrocytes, not a mechanical wear and tear process, a researcher said here

Thursday at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 71st annual

meeting.

The research was presented at a press briefing by ph Buckwalter, MD,

who, along with colleagues at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, has

conducted several studies showing that chondrocytes' ability to maintain and

repair cartilage is hurt by both the aging process and the introduction of

free radicals into the joint space. ... chondrocytes grown in a high-oxygen

environment ‹ 21% oxygen ‹ died faster than those grown in low oxygen

environments ‹ 5% ‹ closer to that found in the joint.

Dr. Buckwalter said the study shows that injury, which generally brings

blood, and therefore oxygen, into the joint space, can accelerate

chondrocyte death and thus the onset of osteoarthritis.

" It is not a wear and tear problem, " said Dr. Buckwalter. " It's a biologic

process. " ... ooking into decreasing the oxygen flow into a joint area after

injury, perhaps by injecting an enzyme that would stimulate chondrocytes to

make their own antioxidants. ...