Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of curcumin in rheumatoid arthritis patients.Methods: A computerized search from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases was performed until 3 March 2023. Literature screening, basic data extraction and risk of bias evaluation were independently performed by two researchers each. The quality evaluation of the literature was performed according to the Cochrane Handbook for Risk of Bias Assessment tool for treatment evaluation.Results: The current study includes six publications covering 539 rheumatoid arthritis patients. The activity of rheumatoid arthritis was assessed using erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), protein, disease activity score (DAS), rheumatoid factor (RF), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain, tender joint count (TJC) and swollen joint count (SJC). ESR (MD = -29.47, 95% CI [-54.05, -4.88], Z=2.35, P = 0.02), DAS28 (MD = -1.20, 95% CI [-1.85, -0.55], Z=3.62, P = 0.0003), SJC (MD = -5.33, 95% CI [-9.90, -0.76], Z = 2.29, P = 0.02) and TJC (MD = -6.33, 95% CI [-10.86, -1.81], Z = 2.74, P = 0.006) showed significantly change in experimental patients compared with controls.Conclusion: Curcumin is beneficial for rheumatoid arthritis treatment. Inflammation levels and clinical symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis can be improved by curcumin supplementation. Large sample randomized controlled trials on the effects of curcumin on patients with rheumatoid arthritis are needed in the future.Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier (CRD42022361992).

The knee joint, as the main lower limb motor joint, is the most vulnerable and susceptible joint. The knee injuries considerably impact the normal living ability and mental health of patients. Understanding the biomechanics of a normal and diseased knee joint is in urgent need for designing knee assistive devices and optimizing a rehabilitation exercise program. In this paper, we systematically searched electronic databases (from 2000 to November 2019) including ScienceDirect, Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, and IEEE/IET Electronic Library for potentially relevant articles. After duplicates were removed and inclusion criteria applied to the titles, abstracts, and full text, 138 articles remained for review. The selected articles were divided into two groups to be analyzed. Firstly, the real movement of a normal knee joint and the normal knee biomechanics of four kinds of daily motions in the sagittal and coronal planes, which include normal walking, running, stair climbing, and sit-to-stand, were discussed and analyzed. Secondly, an overview of the current knowledge on the movement biomechanical effects of common knee musculoskeletal disorders and knee neurological disorders were provided. Finally, a discussion of the existing problems in the current studies and some recommendation for future research were presented. In general, this review reveals that there is no clear assessment about the biomechanics of normal and diseased knee joints at the current state of the art. The biomechanics properties could be significantly affected by knee musculoskeletal or neurological disorders. Deeper understanding of the biomechanics of the normal and diseased knee joint will still be an urgent need in the future.

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) usually results in postoperative pain. The objective of this meta-analysis was to compare the effectiveness and safety of liposomal bupivacaine (LB) infiltration and femoral nerve block (FNB) for pain control in total knee arthroplasty. We systemically searched electronic databases, including Embase (1980-2016.7), MEDLINE (1966-2016.7), PubMed (1966-2016.7), ScienceDirect (1985-2016.7), Web of Science (1950-2016.7) and Cochrane Library for potentially relevant articles. All calculations were conducted using Stata 11.0. One randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and five non-RCTs involving 1289 participants met the inclusion criteria. The result of the meta-analysis revealed that there were no significant differences in terms of postoperative pain scores at POD 0 (SMD = -0.047, 95% CI: -0.276 to 0.182, P = 0.688), POD1 (SMD = -0.038, 95% CI: -0.273 to 0.197, P = 0.749) or POD 2 (SMD = -0.043, 95% CI: -0.192 to 0.107, P = 0.575). Significant differences were found between groups in morphine equivalent consumption at POD 1 (SMD = 0.625, 95% CI: 0.068 to 1.183, P = 0.028) and POD 2 (SMD = 0.410, 95% CI: 0.024 to 0.796, P = 0.037) between groups. There were no significant differences regarding the incidence of adverse effects such as nausea (RD = -0.01, 95% CI: -0.04 to -0.075, P = 0.914) or vomiting (RD = 0.006, 95% CI: -0.049 to 0.062, P = 0.821). Liposomal bupivacaine infiltration provides similar postoperative pain relief to femoral nerve block following total knee arthroplasty. In addition, liposomal bupivacaine infiltration could significantly reduce the consumption of morphine equivalents compared to femoral nerve block without an increased risk of adverse events.

Mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrows (BMSCs) and curcumin derived from turmeric were used for osteoarthritis (OA) treatment, respectively. We invested the effects of curcumin supplementation for BMSC therapeutic effects. In vitro, rat BMSCs were identified by dual-immunofluorescent staining of CD44 and CD90, and flow cytometry. Primary articular chondrocytes were identified by toluidine blue staining and immunofluorescent staining of Col2a1. EdU incorporation, migration assay, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot analyses were performed to evaluate the alterations of chondrocytes cocultured with BMSCs. In vivo, the rat model of OA was established by monoiodoacetic acid. After intra-articular injection of allogeneic BMSCs, articular cartilage damage and OA progression were evaluated by histological staining, and Osteoarthritis Research Society International and Mankin score evaluation. Although curcumin alone did not improve cell viability of primary articular chondrocytes, it promoted proliferation and migration of chondrocytes when cocultured with BMSCs. Meanwhile, the expression of anabolic genes in chondrocytes was remarkably increased both at mRNA and protein levels. In OA rats, curcumin and BMSCs cooperated to greatly promote articular cartilage repair and retard OA progression. Therefore, curcumin supplementation enhanced the BMSC function for the proliferation and migration of articular chondrocytes, and anabolic gene expression of extracellular matrix in articular chondrocytes in vitro, and the generation of articular cartilage in vivo. Our study shed light on the potential clinical application of curcumin cooperated with BMSCs in cartilage repair for OA treatment.

Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT-4.0 and DeepSeek-R1 provide advanced natural language capabilities, but they also raise concerns regarding accuracy in medical applications. There is a lack of systematic evaluation of their performance against orthopedic guidelines, particularly for knee osteoarthritis (KOA). This study assessed the accuracy and consistency of these LLMs in relation to the most recent Chinese clinical practice guidelines for KOA. Queries regarding 17 guideline-recommended KOA therapeutic strategies were posed to ChatGPT-4.0 and DeepSeek-R1. Two independent reviewers evaluated response concordance (Concordance, Discordance, or No Concordance) with guidelines. Inter-rater reliability was assessed using Cohen's kappa coefficient. A chi-square test was employed to compare the response patterns between the two models. ChatGPT-4.0 showed 59 % concordance; DeepSeek-R1 achieved 71 %. Both models gave inconsistent recommendations for ozone therapy and arthroscopy. ChatGPT-4.0 had five inconsistent responses; DeepSeek-R1 had three. Inter-rater agreement was high (κ = 0.90 and 0.86). No significant difference was found in concordance rates (P = 0.7; P = 1). Only DeepSeek-R1 provided references (38 in total), but just 8 were fully verifiable. Neither ChatGPT-4.0 nor DeepSeek-R1 consistently produced responses aligned with evidence-based clinical guidelines. These findings highlight the need for cautious interpretation of medical advice generated by current AI platforms, both by clinicians and patients.