HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sonoda, M. Articles by Amiel, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sonoda, M. Articles by Amiel, D. Related Collections Animal studies Biomechanics Histology Meniscus

The Effects of Hyaluronan on Tissue Healing After Meniscus Injury and Repair in a Rabbit Model

Masaki Sonoda, MD, PhD^,, Frederick L. Harwood, Michael E. Amiel, Hideshige Moriya, MD, PhD^||, Michele Temple^a, Douglas G. Chang^a, Lisa M. Lottman^a, Robert L. Sah, MD^a and David Amiel, PhD

Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Kawatetsu Hospital, Chiba
^|| Department of Orthopaedics, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
Department of Orthopaedics University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
^a Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California

Presented at the 44th annual meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 1998.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Masaki Sonoda, MD, PhD, Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Kawatetsu Hospital, 1-11-12 Minami-cho Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-0842, Japan

To assess the effect of hyaluronan on meniscus injury and repair, we had 35 mature New Zealand White rabbits undergo bilateral meniscus injury and repair (19 in the peripheral region, and 16 in the inner region). A longitudinal tear was created in the medial meniscus and repaired with horizontally placed nylon sutures. The left knee joint received intraarticular injections of hyaluronan 1 week after surgery and once a week for 5 weeks. The right knees were injected with phosphate-buffered saline (the carrier vehicle of the hyaluronan). Twelve weeks after repair, tears in the peripheral region showed gross and histologic evidence of healing, with no difference between the vehicle- and hyaluronan-treated menisci. Biochemically, the ratio of reducible collagen cross-links in the hyaluronan-treated menisci was significantly higher than in the vehicle-treated menisci, indicating greater level of collagen remodeling. Biomechanically the vehicle- and hyaluronan-treated menisci demonstrated similarly high tearing load and fracture toughness. In the inner region, poor healing response was observed grossly and histologically in both treatment groups. Water content in the hyaluronan-treated menisci was significantly lower than in the vehicle-treated menisci, indicating a lower level of swelling. Hyaluronan treatment stimulated collagen remodeling in the peripheral region and inhibited swelling of the meniscus repaired in the inner region.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Aslan, G. Simsek, and E. Dayi The Effect of Hyaluronic Acid-supplemented Bone Graft in Bone Healing: Experimental Study in Rabbits J Biomater Appl, January 1, 2006; 20(3): 209 - 220. [Abstract] [PDF]

				G. M. Peretti, T. J. Gill, J.-W. Xu, M. A. Randolph, K. R. Morse, and D. J. Zaleske Cell-Based Therapy for Meniscal Repair: A Large Animal Study Am. J. Sports Med., January 1, 2004; 32(1): 146 - 158. [Abstract] [Full Text]