DEVELOPMENT OF A TRAUMATIC ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT AND MENISCAL RUPTURE MODEL TO STUDY OSTEOARTHRITIS

摘要

Participation in sports, recreation, and exercise is progressively gaining more popularity in American culture and, along with it, the risk of acute and chronic injuries. People who injure a knee before the age of 22 have a greater than 3-fold risk of developing osteoarthritis (OA) in the injured joint by their mid 50s. Specifically, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscal injuries are strongly associated with the development of OA, a common and widespread musculoskeletal disease. Surgical transection of the ACL in the rabbit has been previously used to investigate the pathogenesis of OA, but it does not account for large axial compressive joint loads that may occur, for example from jump landings that can tear the ACL. Acute damages to articular cartilage, meniscus, and underlying bone of the knee induced by these large compressive forces may contribute to the degeneration of the joint and help explain why OA is prevalent in 78% of both reconstructed and non-reconstructed patients after 14 years.