Abstract
This study aimed to investigate and clarify the effect of aging on the progression of cartilage damage using a rat osteoarthritis model. In total, 12 rats, including three rats per age group, were assigned to the experimental group, and two rats (one 3 and 18 months old each) were assigned to the control group. In the experimental group, joint instability was induced using the destabilization of the medial meniscus model. After completion of the 4-week experimental period, the bilateral knee joints were harvested and the histological changes in the articular structures of the joints were observed using a light microscope. Medial dislocation of the medial meniscus, low staining of the cartilaginous substrate on the tibial side localized around the medial meniscus tip, and irregularities and fibrillation of the superficial layer of the cartilage on the tibial side were observed in all experimental age groups. No significant age-related differences were observed in the degree of observed findings and the score of cartilage degeneration. The results indicate that aging does not affect the early stages of progression of cartilage damage.
Highlights
Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common degenerative joint disease that mainly affects the articular cartilage and is associated with aging
It is assumed that the progression of cartilage damage after trauma is affected by aging because OA is associated with degeneration of the articular cartilage with aging [7,8,9]
Medial dislocation of the medial meniscus (Figure 1, top), low staining of the cartilaginous substrate on the tibial side localized around the medial meniscus tip (Figure 1, middle), and irregularities and fibrillation of the superficial layer of the cartilage on the tibial side (Figure 1, bottom) were observed in all experimental age groups
Summary
Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common degenerative joint disease that mainly affects the articular cartilage and is associated with aging. A previous large-scale, population-based cohort study named research on osteoarthritis/osteoporosis against disability investigated the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis in the Japanese population and reported that 25,300,000 people (8,600,000 men and 16,700,000 women) aged >40 years might be affected [3]. It is assumed that the progression of cartilage damage after trauma is affected by aging because OA is associated with degeneration of the articular cartilage with aging [7,8,9]. The association between the progression of cartilage damage after trauma and the effects of aging on knee OA is unknown
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