Equine Degenerative Joint Disease Flashcards
What are the two functions of joints?
- ) Provide pain free, almost frictionless motion
2. ) Transfer load of the forces
Osteoarthritis definition
- Progressive and permanent degeneration of articular cartilage accompanied by changes in the adjacent bone and soft tissues
Does acute loss of articular cartilage equal Degenerative joint disease?
- No
- It can lead to it, but does not equal it
What is the origin of DJD almost always?
- Traumatic in origin
Is DJD more often acute or a chronic injury?
- Chronic, repetitive injury
- Acute can happen too if they take a bad step; can result in a fracture too
6 parts of diarthrodial joints?
- Fibrous joint capsule
- Synovial membrane (villa)
- Intra-articular ligaments
- Articular cartilage
- Subchondral bone (shock absorption)
- Synovial fluid (Supplies nutrients to articular cartilage)
What is articular cartilage composed of primarily?
- 70% water
- Type II cartilage** (vs type I and type III being most common)
- Also: proteoglycan; glycoproteins; minerals, lipids, chondrocytes)
What determines the mechanical properties of cartilage?
- Composition of the extracellular matrix
- Avascular, aneurla, alymphatic
What regulates matrix maintenance and turnover in articular cartilage?
- Chondrocytes
Articular cartilage blood, nerve, and lymphatic supply?
- None - avascular, aneural, and alymphatic
Which is more dynamic: collagen turnover or proteoglycan turnover?
- Proteoglycan!
How do chondrocytes obtain their nutrients?
- Diffusion from the synovial fluid
- Also the medium through which metabolic waste products are removed
- Pumping action of weight bearing assists diffusion
- Glucose, oxygen, and amino acids must reach the cells by diffusion
Cartilage metabolism type
- Predominately anaerobic
What happens to articular cartilage in DJD?
- Disruption of normal balance between degradation and synthesis
- Degradation exceeds repair and DJD results
- Type II collagen turnover is slow
- Proteoglycans are rapidly exchanged
- Breakdown of collagen framework
- Reduction in proteoglycan content and alteration of proteoglycan structure
- Increase in water content (cell swelling)
- Increased degradative enzyme activity
What happens to the mechanical properties of articular cartilage in DJD?
- Softer in compression and weaker in tension
Healing
- Restoration of the structural integrity and function of the tissue after injury or disease (e.g. with bone)
Repair
- Replacement of damaged or lost cells and matrix with new cell and matrix (not necessarily restore the original structure of function of the tissue)
Capacity of cartilage to heal
- Very limited ability to heal
Intrinsic repair
- Relies on limited mitotic capability of chondrocytes and a somewhat ineffective increase in collagen and proteoglycan production
- Quite limited
Extrinsic repair***
- Comes from mesenchymal elements from subchondral bone participating in the formation of new connective tissue that may undergo some metaplastic change to form cartilage elements
What type of cartilage is laid down with extrinsic repair?
- Fibrocartilage
What influences extrinsic repair of articular cartilage?
- Depth of the lesion (full vs partial thickness)
- Size
- Location and relation to weight-bearing
- Age of the animal
Full vs partial thickness defect
- Repair takes longer for full thickness lesion
- Top of articular cartilage down to subchondral bone
- For partial thickness you may not need a full repair
- Partial thickness defects rarely completely heal, but may not compromise joint function
- Full thickness defects repair by ingrowth of subchondral fibrous tissue that may or may not undergo metaplasia to fibrocartilage
Location in relation to weight bearing
- DIRT lesions they cut down to healthy bone, but it’s not a big deal at the distal intermediate ridge of the tibia
- If they do the same thing with subchondral bone cysts or the lateral trochlear ridge, worse prognosis for developing arthritis
- Non weight bearing lesions heal faste rand may be less painful
Repair tissue that forms at 4 months of articular cartilage defects?
- Type I, then to type III
Tidemark and repair of articular cartilage defects
- Tidemark rarely reforms and the cartilage edges rarely re-attach