Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a complicated and diverse debilitating disease that considerably burdens healthcare systems and negatively impacts the quality of life for millions of individuals globally. To present, OA remains challenging to treat and joint arthroplasty is the ultimate treatment for individuals with end-stage knee OA. However, a detailed understanding of the pathological etiology of knee OA may help to identify novel and efficient treatments. The recent breakthroughs in understanding of the pathophysiology of knee OA have enabled the documentation of potential therapeutic targets implicated in the disease process. Emerging therapeutics targeting matrix-degrading proteases or senescent chondrocytes, enhancing cartilage repair, or restraining bone remodeling would improve tissue regeneration/recovery while reduce the progression of the disease.
Abnormal mechanical factors appear to accelerate disease progression of knee OA, and are emerging as potentially modifiable therapeutic targets for a wide range of approaches. Chondrocytes are mechanosensitive receptors that sense the physical environment, and initiate a complex network of downstream signaling pathways to regulate various cell processes critical to the pathophysiology of knee OA. Therapeutic strategies that alter the mechanical loading pattern such as arthroscopic repair of menisci and ligaments, high tibial osteotomy (HTO), and artificial intelligence (AI) assisted joint surgery to promote effective management of knee OA. Therefore, it is an important yet challenging task to further characterize the mechanical environment of knee OA.
The study of the pathophysiology and treatments for knee OA will help in the development of targeted therapy with enhanced benefit to risk balance that has an impact on our society. The goal of this Research Topic is to comprehensively integrate our understanding of molecular and cellular mechanisms of knee OA as well as those from clinical research to provide a global picture of the disease process and development of potential therapeutic targets, making it possible to translate research from basic pathophysiological research to clinical translational therapeutics.
This Research Topic welcomes Original Research and Review articles related to the pathogenesis and clinical managements in the knee OA including, but not limited to:
- Interventions for patients with knee OA to improve function (e.g., movement retraining, physical therapeutic exercise, biofeedback, assistive devices)
- Strategies to target mechano-signaling in cartilage with smart mechanoresponsive biomaterials and drug delivery systems
- Novel pharmacological therapeutics for osteoarthritis through targeting cartilage breakdown, cartilage repair, bone remodeling and pain
- Arthroscopic and open surgical interventions to alter knee kinematics and biomechanical loading patterns
- Basic investigations into compositional, proteomic, histology, or biomechanical biomarkers employing artificial intelligence for early identification, diagnosis, and prognosis of knee OA
- Advanced methods in knee biomechanical loading analysis (e.g., computational models, biofeedback systems, wearable technologies, artificial intelligence/machine learning, big data analysis, image analysis, medical imaging, model personalization, and multiscale models)
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a complicated and diverse debilitating disease that considerably burdens healthcare systems and negatively impacts the quality of life for millions of individuals globally. To present, OA remains challenging to treat and joint arthroplasty is the ultimate treatment for individuals with end-stage knee OA. However, a detailed understanding of the pathological etiology of knee OA may help to identify novel and efficient treatments. The recent breakthroughs in understanding of the pathophysiology of knee OA have enabled the documentation of potential therapeutic targets implicated in the disease process. Emerging therapeutics targeting matrix-degrading proteases or senescent chondrocytes, enhancing cartilage repair, or restraining bone remodeling would improve tissue regeneration/recovery while reduce the progression of the disease.
Abnormal mechanical factors appear to accelerate disease progression of knee OA, and are emerging as potentially modifiable therapeutic targets for a wide range of approaches. Chondrocytes are mechanosensitive receptors that sense the physical environment, and initiate a complex network of downstream signaling pathways to regulate various cell processes critical to the pathophysiology of knee OA. Therapeutic strategies that alter the mechanical loading pattern such as arthroscopic repair of menisci and ligaments, high tibial osteotomy (HTO), and artificial intelligence (AI) assisted joint surgery to promote effective management of knee OA. Therefore, it is an important yet challenging task to further characterize the mechanical environment of knee OA.
The study of the pathophysiology and treatments for knee OA will help in the development of targeted therapy with enhanced benefit to risk balance that has an impact on our society. The goal of this Research Topic is to comprehensively integrate our understanding of molecular and cellular mechanisms of knee OA as well as those from clinical research to provide a global picture of the disease process and development of potential therapeutic targets, making it possible to translate research from basic pathophysiological research to clinical translational therapeutics.
This Research Topic welcomes Original Research and Review articles related to the pathogenesis and clinical managements in the knee OA including, but not limited to:
- Interventions for patients with knee OA to improve function (e.g., movement retraining, physical therapeutic exercise, biofeedback, assistive devices)
- Strategies to target mechano-signaling in cartilage with smart mechanoresponsive biomaterials and drug delivery systems
- Novel pharmacological therapeutics for osteoarthritis through targeting cartilage breakdown, cartilage repair, bone remodeling and pain
- Arthroscopic and open surgical interventions to alter knee kinematics and biomechanical loading patterns
- Basic investigations into compositional, proteomic, histology, or biomechanical biomarkers employing artificial intelligence for early identification, diagnosis, and prognosis of knee OA
- Advanced methods in knee biomechanical loading analysis (e.g., computational models, biofeedback systems, wearable technologies, artificial intelligence/machine learning, big data analysis, image analysis, medical imaging, model personalization, and multiscale models)