Intraarticular injection of high molecular weight hyaluronan for osteoarthritis of the knee - prediction of effectiveness with biological markers.

Abstract

It has been reported that the concentration of aggrecan-derived fragments in synovial fluid decreases with advancement of the OA stage, reflecting decreases in the amount of residual cartilage and suppression of chondrocyte metabolism. Our findings suggested that HA injection exhibits a greater clinical effect in cases with a high intraarticular aggrecan fragment concentration, i.e., cases in which a high amount of residual cartilage and chondrocyte metabolic activity remain. The biological markers were useful in predicting the effectiveness of HA injection for OA of the knee.