American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, March 5-9, 2008
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' 75th Annual Meeting
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' 75th Annual Meeting took place March 5-9 in San Francisco, Calif., and attracted more than 30,000 attendees from around the world. Notable presentations addressed the increasing incidence of sports injuries, promising new research in cartilage regeneration and four award-winning studies that may help close the gap between basic science and clinical practice and lead to more effective treatments for osteoarthritis and fractures.
"Every year, sports injuries are becoming a bigger worry," said chairman of the annual meeting committee Colin Moseley, M.D., of the Shriners Hospital for Children in Los Angeles.
"College-bound teenagers in the United States and around the world are way more active than ever before," Col. Tom DeBerardino, M.D., the Sports Medicine Fellowship Director at Keller Army Hospital in West Point, N.Y., said in a statement. During a media briefing, DeBerardino cited statistics on the increasing numbers of sports injuries seen among newly arriving cadets at West Point.
During a media briefing entitled "The 21st Century Triple Play: Stem Cells, Gene Therapy and Tissue Engineering," researchers discussed technological developments that are expected to revolutionize musculoskeletal medicine.
"The four papers which received awards this year are of some clinical relevance," Moseley said. "The first one identified special enzymes in articular cartilage that are involved with degradation in osteoarthritis. This is exciting, because if we can identify such enzymes, we might be able to inhibit them or stop their activity."
Entitled "ADAMTS-7 and ADAMTS-12: Two Novel Cartilage-Degrading Metalloproteinases," the paper was written by Chuanju Liu, Ph.D., of the New York University School of Medicine, and colleagues.
The second award-winning paper, "In Vivo Studies of BMP Pathway Activities on Chondrogenesis," was written by Karen Lyons, Ph.D., of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and colleagues and extends research first conducted 45 years ago at UCLA on bone formation. "The important aspect of this is that Dr. Lyons showed that some of these chemicals actually affect cartilage as well as bone," Moseley said. "This could be tremendous if it helps us find ways to get cartilage to heal."
The third award-winning paper, "The Foundation of a New Paradigm of Disc Degeneration: The Twin Spine Study," was written by Michele C. Battie, Ph.D., of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and colleagues. "She found that certain genetic factors are involved in the development of low-back problems," Moseley said. "So it appears that degenerative disc disease in the spine has a much greater genetic factor than we had thought before."
The fourth award-winning paper, "Effect of Changing Strategies of Fracture Fixation on Immunologic Changes and Systemic Complications After Multiple Trauma: Damage Control Orthopaedic Surgery," was written by Hans Pape, M.D., of the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues. "What he found was that there are certain types of patients whose conditions are fairly fragile after whatever injuries caused their fractures and that early surgery to fix the fracture and immobilize it may be actually detrimental," Moseley said. "He called them 'borderline' patients who were at higher risk for deterioration. That's the only one of these papers which will have an effect on clinical practice, and it could have a fairly immediate effect."
AAOS: Patients Often Baffled By Surgical Consent
FRIDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- In patients who undergo elective orthopaedic surgery, comprehension of surgical consent is low after a preoperative informed consent discussion and continues to decline two to three months after surgery, according to research presented this week at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' 75th annual meeting in San Francisco.
AAOS: Golfing May Be Tough on Artificial Knee Joints
THURSDAY, March 6 (HealthDay News) -- In patients who have undergone total knee arthroplasty, even a low-impact recreational activity such as golf can place a high amount of stress on the artificial joint, according to research presented this week at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' 75th annual meeting in San Francisco.
AAOS: Joint Replacement Risky for Type 1 Diabetics
THURSDAY, March 6 (HealthDay News) -- Among diabetic patients who undergo joint replacement surgery, the risk of adverse outcomes is significantly greater in those who have type 1 diabetes than in those who have type 2 diabetes, according to research presented this week at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' 75th annual meeting in San Francisco.
AAOS: MRIs Over-Utilized in Knee Osteoarthritis Patients
THURSDAY, March 6 (HealthDay News) -- Prior to consulting an orthopaedic surgeon about total knee arthroplasty, many osteoarthritis patients may undergo costly and unnecessary MRI tests, according to research presented this week at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' 75th annual meeting in San Francisco.
AAOS: Gender Differences Predispose Women to Injuries
THURSDAY, March 6 (HealthDay News) -- Now that increasing numbers of women are experiencing orthopaedic injuries from participation in recreational activities and amateur and professional sports, there is a need for increased research and education to address ways to protect their musculoskeletal health, according to researchers who spoke at a media briefing entitled "Sex Matters: From Sports to Life, Gender Really Makes a Difference in Musculoskeletal Health" at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' 75th annual meeting in San Francisco.
AAOS: Age No Barrier to ACL Reconstruction
WEDNESDAY, March 5 (HealthDay News) -- In patients over age 50, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is a feasible intervention, according to research presented this week at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' 75th annual meeting in San Francisco.
AAOS: Stem Cells to Transform Orthopaedic Medicine
WEDNESDAY, March 5 (HealthDay News) -- Stem cell technology -- which is already being used for fracture repair and bony defects -- will soon revolutionize orthopaedic medicine, according to researchers who spoke at a media briefing entitled "The 21st Century Triple Play: Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering and Gene Therapy" at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' 75th annual meeting in San Francisco.
AAOS: Aspirin Looks Promising for Knee Surgery Patients
WEDNESDAY, March 5 (HealthDay News) -- In carefully selected patients undergoing total knee replacement, aspirin may be a safer and more effective strategy for reducing the risk of venous thromboembolism than the strategies favored by the American College of Chest Physicians, according to research presented this week at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' 75th annual meeting in San Francisco.
AAOS: BMI Predicts Range of Motion After Knee Surgery
WEDNESDAY, March 5 (HealthDay News) -- In patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty, obesity is associated with decreased preoperative and postoperative range of motion, according to research presented this week at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' 75th annual meeting in San Francisco.
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