Abstract
Facet joint osteoarthritis is a prominent feature of degenerative spine disorders, highly prevalent in ageing populations, and considered a major cause for chronic lower back pain. Since there is no targeted pharmacological therapy, clinical management of disease includes analgesic or surgical treatment. The specific cellular, molecular, and structural changes underpinning facet joint osteoarthritis remain largely elusive. The aim of this study was to determine osteoarthritis-related structural alterations in cortical and trabecular subchondral bone compartments. To this end, we conducted comparative micro computed tomography analysis in healthy (n = 15) and osteoarthritic (n = 22) lumbar facet joints. In osteoarthritic joints, subchondral cortical plate thickness and porosity were significantly reduced. The trabecular compartment displayed a 42 percent increase in bone volume fraction due to an increase in trabecular number, but not trabecular thickness. Bone structural alterations were associated with radiological osteoarthritis severity, mildly age-dependent but not gender-dependent. There was a lack of association between structural parameters of cortical and trabecular compartments in healthy and osteoarthritic specimens. The specific structural alterations suggest elevated subchondral bone resorption and turnover as a potential treatment target in facet joint osteoarthritis.
Highlights
Facet joint osteoarthritis (FJOA) is a prominent radiological feature of several degenerative spine disorders including spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, and intervertebral disc degeneration [1,2,3,4]
Corroborating findings from previous two-dimensional histopathological studies [14,16] in a three-dimensional analysis, we found FJOA was characterized by an increase of subchondral trabecular bone volume due to a higher trabecular number, but not thickness
The specific structural alterations in FJOA were dependent on osteoarthritis severity and age, but not gender
Summary
Facet joint osteoarthritis (FJOA) is a prominent radiological feature of several degenerative spine disorders including spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, and intervertebral disc degeneration [1,2,3,4]. Owing to the reported associations of FJOA and low back pain, the majority of histopathological characterizations of facet joints and their capsular tissues have focused on the identification of pain-sensing nerve structures or pain mediators [10,11,12,13]. Both nociceptive nerve fibers and neuromodulators, such as substance P and nerve growth factor, have been identified in capsular tissues of degenerative facet joints. The specific changes in bone structural parameters due to enhanced remodeling have not been identified far
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