Brown University

Understanding osteophyte patterns across literature as a motivation to provide insight into thumb osteoarthritis etiology

Description

Abstract:
Despite a significant incidence and burden of carpometacarpal osteoarthritis (CMC OA) in people over 55, the understanding of OA etiology is lacking. Specifically, the role of osteophytes, or bony outgrowths seen radiologically in OA, are not well-understood. The longitudinal quantification and location-dependence of osteophyte growth with disease progression has not been reported. We aimed to evaluate osteophyte patterns across the literature to build a comprehensive understanding of osteophytes’ role to drive the discussion of CMC OA etiological hypotheses. Through a literature review, we fully characterized the patterns of osteophytes across joints, how they are implicated clinically in the face of OA, their mechanisms of formation, and their genetic and vascular regulation. We found that the literature has reported both positive and negative associations with osteophyte development, such as increased stability in an arthritic joint and increased pain. The literature reports a high regional-dependence in osteophyte growth, and that the association between joint stresses and osteophyte growth should be further evaluated using finite element analysis overlay. Additionally, the development of osteophytes may utilize drug-targetable genes and proteins in endochondral ossification, and genetic regulation has yet to be fully understood. Vascularity may also play an important role in the location-dependence of osteophyte development based on studies indicating that vascularity in joint peripheries has been highly associated with osteophyte formation, while central avascularity is associated with cartilage degradation instead. Future directions include the study of the association between pain scores and osteophyte growth in the CMC OA population, and further analysis of the interplay between osteophyte development and CMC vascularity, ligamentous biomechanics, and genetic regulation.
Notes:
Scholarly concentration: Non-Scholarly Concentrator

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Citation

Kahan, Lindsey G., Crisco, Joseph J., and Weiss, Arnold-Peter C., "Understanding osteophyte patterns across literature as a motivation to provide insight into thumb osteoarthritis etiology" (2018). Warren Alpert Medical School Academic Symposium. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:833866/

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  • Warren Alpert Medical School Academic Symposium

    The Warren Alpert Medical School Academic Symposium is an annual event at Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University that provides Year II medical students a venue to present their summer research in a poster format. Participation in the Symposium …
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