title: Serum keratan sulfate levels in osteoarthritis patients.
abstract: Serum levels of keratan sulfate (KS), measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent-inhibition assay, were found to be significantly higher in 31 patients with hypertrophic osteoarthritis (OA) than those in 41 adults without joint disease. Seventy-seven percent of patients with OA, but only 12% of control subjects, had serum levels which were more than 1 SD above the mean of the control group. Following replacement of a single osteoarthritic hip joint, serum KS levels decreased, at first, in all patients. Subsequently, the concentration of serum KS progressively increased; 6 months following surgery, KS levels were similar or close to the preoperative levels in virtually all patients. The results suggest that patients with hypertrophic OA may have a generalized imbalance of cartilage proteoglycan metabolism. Measurements of serum KS are likely to prove most useful in studying this particular subset of patients with generalized OA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Sweet
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Coelho
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Schnitzler
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Schnitzer
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Lenz
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jakim
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Kuettner
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Thonar
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000097:blood*; D006621:Hip Joint; D006622:Hip Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D007632:Keratan Sulfate / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000097:blood*; D011184:Postoperative Period
chemical_list: D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D007632:Keratan Sulfate