ArticleOsteoarthritis and cartilage2007
Calcification of human articular knee cartilage is primarily an effect of aging rather than osteoarthritis.
Article in Osteoarthritis and cartilage, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 43 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 121 citations in OpenAlex.
- Chondrocalcinosis does not affect functional outcome and prosthesis survival in patients after total or unicompartmental knee arthroplasty: a systematic review.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2022Pooled it
- Characterization of calcifications in posterior horn of human meniscus using micro-computed tomography.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2026Article
- Biointegration of a partially decellularized tracheal scaffold in a porcine model - preliminary results.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Chondrocalcinosis and incident knee osteoarthritis: findings from 2 large prospective cohorts with 20 years of follow-up.Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2025Observational
- Cartilage-SpecificBiomedicines · 2025Article
- CPP-calcification of articular cartilage is associated with elevated cytokine levels in synovial fluid.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Article
- Intra-Articular Mineralization on Computerized Tomography of the Knee and Risk of Cartilage Damage: The Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2024Article
- Immunoengineering Biomaterials for Musculoskeletal Tissue Repair across Lifespan.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2024Review
- Relation of Intra-Articular Mineralization to Knee Pain in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Longitudinal Analysis in the MOST Study.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2023Article
- Vector potential dual effect of promoting the proliferation of chondrocytes and inhibiting the calcification process in the articular cartilage.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Prevalence of intra-articular mineralization on knee computed tomography: the multicenter osteoarthritis study.Osteoarthritis and cartilage · 2023Article
- How are Aging and Osteoarthritis Related?Aging and disease · 2023Review
- 3D analysis and grading of calcifications from ex vivo human meniscus.Osteoarthritis and cartilage · 2023Article
- Current Advances in the Regeneration of Degenerated Articular Cartilage: A Literature Review on Tissue Engineering and Its Recent Clinical Translation.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Review
- Severe injury-induced osteoporosis and skeletal muscle mineralization: Are these related complications?Bone reports · 2021Article
- Optical Biomarkers for the Diagnosis of Osteoarthritis through Raman Spectroscopy: Radiological and Biochemical Validation Using Ex Vivo Human Cartilage Samples.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Review
- Aspiration-assisted bioprinting of the osteochondral interface.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Reliability of a new scoring system for intraarticular mineralization of the knee: Boston University Calcium Knee Score (BUCKS).Osteoarthritis and cartilage · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivePathologic calcification of articular cartilage in human knees is often associated with advanced age and conditions of osteoarthritis (OA). Coincidently, most studies that have characterized calcification in joint cartilage have examined populations that are aged and presenting with clinical symptoms. Generally, these studies rely upon relatively insensitive plain radiographs or synovial fluid crystal analyses to quantify calcium levels. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cartilage calcification and aging in an unselected donor population of diverse age using highly sensitive calcification imaging.
methodsA group of 106 knee blocks were obtained from 56 individual donors (25 females and 31 males, aged 12-74, avg. 50.3 years). Condylar surfaces were graded on a 4-point OA grading scale for cartilage degeneration. The condyles were cut into approximately 7-10mm thick slabs. Using a Faxitron radiography system, high-resolution images were taken of the slabs to specifically image calcification in cartilage. The quantified calcification areas were then analyzed and correlations with both OA grade and age were assessed.
resultsEvery knee presented some measurable calcification. The relative calcium deposition had a significant positive correlation with age. This same positive correlation was seen between condyles showing grade 1 and 2 changes. OA grades higher than 2 did not present any further significant increase in calcium levels.
conclusionThese observations indicate that age rather than OA is the predominant factor driving progressive pathologic calcification in articular cartilage.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.