Abstract
Examination of synovial fluids by light microscopy led to the discovery of urate crystals in patients with gout1, and of pyrophosphate crystals in ‘pseudogout’2. This work was followed by experiments to show that the crystals can cause inflammation, and it is now generally accepted that the presence of these particles in the joint cavity initiates the inflammatory response in these two diseases. In gout, the sodium biurate crystals form within the synovial fluid itself, whereas in ‘pseudogout’, calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate is precipitated first in articular cartilage, and only escapes into the synovial fluid if dislodged from its former site. However, the presence of pyrophosphate crystals in articular cartilage (chondrocalcinosis), is more often associated with a chronic ‘degenerative’ type of arthritis than with acute pseudogout3. An examination of cartilage and synovial fluid from patients with the universal chronic form of joint disease, osteoarthritis, therefore seemed worthwhile.
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References
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Dieppe, P.A. (1977). Crystal induced inflammation and osteoarthritis. In: Willoughby, D.A., Giroud, J.P., Velo, G.P. (eds) Perspectives in Inflammation. Future Trends in Inflammation, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-7185-4_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-7185-4_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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