title: Hyperthermia for the treatment of articular cartilage with osteoarthritis.
abstract: Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most frequent musculoskeletal disorders in the elderly population. OA is characterised by a gradual loss of extracellular matrix in the articular cartilage of joints. OA can only be managed by artificial joint replacement when joint destruction becomes severe. Therefore, it is preferable to administer conservative therapy that is easy, simple and effective in inhibiting OA progression at the early stage. Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) has a protective effect on the cartilage and inhibits the apoptosis of chondrocytes. Heat stimulation by microwave to the joints can increase Hsp70 expression in chondrocytes, and at the same time, Hsp70 expression partially enhances matrix metabolism of the cartilage. These findings suggest that hyperthermia can be positively applied to the treatment of OA. Hyperthermia is therefore expected to be an inexpensive and less-invasive conservative therapy for OA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan. t-keji@mbox.kyoto-inet.or.jp
authors.forename: Kenji A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tonomura
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Ryu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Terauchi
authors.forename: Kuniaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Honjo
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hiraoka
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hojo
authors.forename: Taisuke
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kunitomo
authors.forename: Toshikazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kubo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006979:Hyperthermia, Induced; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins