Osteochondritis dissecans is a condition in which part of the articular surface of a joint separates, due to a plane of cleavage through the subchondral bone. It is found most commonly in the knee although other joint can be affected, notably the elbow, ankle and hip. The etiology remains unclear, and treatment still provokes controversy in the orthopedic community. This review is confined to osteochondritis dissecans of the knee and reports the result of different methods of treatment including arthroscopic drilling. The authors experienced 7 cases of osteochondritis dissecans with received treatment at C.A.F.G.H. from May 1982 to November 1984. The results were obtained as follows: 1. Common symptoms and signs were pain, limitation of motion, quadriceps atrophy and weakness. 2. Five of six cases had histories of trauma. 3. The methods of treatment were as follows: Curettage and drilling................................................... 2 Excision ...................................................................... 2 Curettage and bone graft .............................................2 Arthroscopic drilling .................................................... 1
Ankle ; Atrophy ; Curettage ; Elbow ; Hip ; Joints ; Knee ; Orthopedics ; Osteochondritis Dissecans ; Osteochondritis ; Transplants

The studies reported here were undertaken to investigate the effects of mercury chloride on immune system of Balb/c mouse employing a flexible tier of in vitro and in vivo assays. Mercury chloride inhibited the proliferative responses of spleen cells to lipopolysaccharide, pokeweed mitogen, and phytohemagglutinin as a dose-dependent manner. This inhibitory effect was observed not only when HgCl2 was added 2nd or 3rd day of 3 days culture period but also when spleen cells was pretreated with HgC12 for 2 hours. Mercury chloride, however, potentiated the production of IgM and IgG from spleen cells. During the HgCl2 administration by drinking for 3 weeks, the weight gain of mice was significantly blunted than that of control group mice, while no overt signs related to mercury toxicity were noted in any mice of experimental group. There was no change in thymus and spleen weights, and in histological findings of kidney, bone marrow of femur, thymus, spleen, and politeful lymph node after 3 weeks of mercury exposure. However, HgC12 induced a significant increase of total serum IgM, IgG including IgG1, IgG2a and IgG2b, and IgE in Balb/c mice. Treatment in vivo with anti-IL-4 monoclonal antibody significantly abrogated the HgCl2-induced increase in total serum IgG1 and IgE. Whereas HgCl2 potentiated total serum IgM and IgG, there was, there was no difference in total serum hemagglutinin to SRBC(Sheep Red Blood cell) between experimental and control group mice when these mice were immunized with SRBC. All these findings observed in Balb/c mice suggest that mercury perturbates well-orchestrated regulation of immune responses before developing histopathological changes in lymphoid tissues.
Animals ; Bone Marrow ; Drinking ; Femur ; Hemagglutinins ; Immune System ; Immunoglobulin E ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Kidney ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphoid Tissue ; Mercuric Chloride* ; Mice* ; Phytolacca americana ; Spleen ; Thymus Gland ; Weight Gain ; Weights and Measures