Extended reports
Mechanical and material properties of the subchondral bone plate
from the femoral head of patients with osteoarthritis or osteoporosis
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of
Aberdeen, Scotland
Correspondence to: Dr R M Aspden, Department of Orthopaedics, University of Aberdeen, Polwarth Building, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB9 2ZD.
Accepted for publication 9 December 1996
OBJECTIVE
To determine the material properties
of the subchondral bone plate in patients with osteoarthritis or osteoporosis.
METHODSFemoral heads were obtained after
surgical removal from age and sex matched groups of patients with
either osteoporosis (OP), after a fractured neck of femur, or
osteoarthritis (OA) and compared with a normal group. The mechanical
stiffness, density, and composition of the subchondral bone plate from
sites selected to represent areas of heavy, intermittent, and light
loading were measured.
RESULTSOverall, OP bone was the least stiff and
dense, followed by OA bone; normal bone was stiffer and more dense (p < 0.05). Though OP bone contained less mineral, the organic and water
contents were increased in proportion suggesting no change in the
relative amount of organic matrix. OA bone was also hypomineralised (p < 0.05) but had different organic and water fractions suggesting a
defect in the matrix. Site variation of most properties was small,
though across all the groups the superior region was significantly stiffer than the inferior.
CONCLUSIONThis study shows that subchondral
bone plate is less stiff than normal in both OP and OA and so cannot,
by itself, explain the preserving of the overlying cartilage in OP
while aiding its destruction in OA. However, the subchondral bone plate
is only one part of the bony structure of the femoral head and changes in the cancellous bone need to be considered. The generalised changes
in bone composition found in patients with OA support the hypothesis
that the disease could involve the bone in the primary pathogenesis.
© 1997 by Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
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