Deltoid ligament (DL) rupture is commonly seen in clinical practice; however the need to explore and surgically repair it is still in debate. The objective of the current study is to compare the outcomes of surgical treatment of ankle fracture with or without DL repair. Between 2009 and 2015, Seventy-four ankle fractures with DL rupture were identified and followed. Twenty patients were treated with surgical repair of the DL, while 54 were not. The pre- and post-operative medial clear space (MCS) were measured and the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score and visual analogue scale (VAS) were used for functional evaluation. According to the radiological malreduction of MCS, the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for each potential relative factor were calculated. The mean followup time was 53.7 months. The mean MCS preoperatively, postoperatively, and at last followup time were 8.7 ± 2.4 (range, 6.2–14.8) mm, 3.7 ± 0.9 (range, 2.6–6.4) mm, 3.6 ± 1.0 (range, 2.6–6.8) mm, respectively. The mean AOFAS score was 86.4 ± 8.1 (range, 52–100) points, and the mean VAS was 1.4 ± 1.4 (range, 0–7) points. During followup, 14.9% (11/74) cases were found to be malreduced (MCS>5 mm), and 5.4% (4/74) went on to failure. Surgical repair of DL can significantly decrease the postoperative MCS (P<0.05), and can also decrease the malreduction rate (P<0.05). AO/OTA type-C ankle fractures showed a positive correlation with malreduction (OR = 4.38, P = 0.03). In this type of injury, surgical repair of the DL can significantly decrease the malreduction rate (P<0.05). No significant difference was found between the AO/OTA type-B fracture with or without DL repair. Surgical repair of the DL is helpful in decreasing the postoperative MCS and malreduction rate, especially for the AO/OTA type-C ankle fractures.

Introduction: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a kind of chronic, degenerative disorder with unknown causes. In this study, we aimed to improve our understanding of the gut microbiota profile in patients with knee OA.Methods: 16S rDNA gene sequencing was performed to detect the gut microbiota in fecal samples collected from the patients with OA (n = 32) and normal control (NC, n = 57). Then the metagenomic sequencing was used to identify the genes or functions linked with gut microbial changes at the species level in the fecal samples from patients with OA and NC groups.Results: The Proteobacteria was identified as dominant bacteria in OA group. We identified 81 genera resulted significantly different in abundance between OA and NC. The abundance of Agathobacter, Ruminococcus, Roseburia, Subdoligranulum, and Lactobacillus showed significant decrease in the OA compared to the NC. The abundance of genera Prevotella_7, Clostridium, Flavonifractor and Klebsiella were increasing in the OA group, and the families Lactobacillaceae, Christensenellaceae, Clostridiaceae_1 and Acidaminococcaceae were increasing in the NC. The metagenomic sequencing showed that the abundance of Bacteroides stercoris, Bacteroides vulgatus and Bacteroides uniformis at the species level were significantly decreasing in the OA, and the abundance of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Shigella flexneri and Streptococcus salivarius were significantly increased in OA.Discussion: The results of our study interpret a comprehensive profile of the gut microbiota in patients with knee OA and offer the evidence that the cartilage-gut-microbiome axis could play a crucial role in underlying the mechanisms and pathogenesis of OA.

Diabetic neuropathic osteoarthropathy (DNOAP) is an uncommon, but with considerable morbidity and mortality rates, complication of diabetes. The real pathogenesis is still unclear. The two popular theories are the neuro-vascular theory and neuro-traumatic theory. Most theories and pathways focused on the uncontrolled inflammations that resulted in the final common pathway, receptor activator of nuclear factor κβ ligand (RANKL)/osteoprotegerin (OPG) axis, for the decreased bone density in DNOAP with an osteoclast and osteoblast imbalance. However, the RANKL/OPG pathway does not explain all the changes, other pathways and factors also play roles. A lot of DNOAP potential relative risk factors were evaluated and reported in the literature, including age, gender, weight, duration and type of diabetes, bone mineral density, peripheral neuropathy and arterial disease, trauma history, and some others. However, most of them are still in debates. Future studies focus on the pathogenesis of DNOAP are still needed, especially for the genetic factors. And, the relationship between DNOAP and those potential relative risk factors are still need to further clarify.

Ankle joint distraction arthroplasty (AJDA) is an alternative surgical procedure for the management of moderate to severe ankle osteoarthritis. However, the benefit of this procedure and failure relative factors are still in debate. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the functional outcomes of AJDA in treatment of moderate to severe ankle OA and to evaluate the relative factors correlated with treatment failure. Forty-six van Dijk stages II and III ankle osteoarthritis patients were included. Fifteen males and 31 females with a mean age of 54.8 (range, 42–71) years were followed with a mean of 42.8 (range, 24–68) months. The Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale (AOS) and American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score were used for functional outcome evaluation. The talar tilt (TT) angle and ankle joint space distance (AJSD) were evaluated. The risk ratio (RR) was calculated for each potential failure relative factor. The AOS and AOFAS scores were significantly improved at the last follow-up time (P < 0.01). The AJSD was improved in 61% of patients and with a significant improvement compared with the preoperative conditions (P < 0.01). The TT angle and range of motion reached no significant difference. The failure rate was 21.7%. Patients with large TT (≥5°) angle (RR = 3.81, 95% CI 1.28–11.33, P = 0.02) and obesity (RR = 3.58, 95% CI 1.30–9.89, P = 0.01) were found to have positive correlation with failure. No correlation was found between failure and gender, or overweight, or side, or age, or type and stage of OA, or pin infection. The current study confirmed the early functional outcomes of ankle distraction arthroplasty. However, this procedure still has a relatively high failure rate, especially for those obese patients and patients with large TT angles.

Osteoporosis (OP) is an aging‐related disease involving permanent bone tissue atrophy. Most patients with OP show high levels of oxidative stress (OS), which destroys the microstructure of bone tissue and promotes disease progression. Exosomes (exos) help in the delivery of microRNAs (miRNAs) and allow intercellular communication. In OP, exosomal miRNAs modulate several physiological processes, including the OS response. In the present review, we aim to describe how exosomal miRNAs and OS contribute to OP. We first summarize the relationship of OS with OP and then detail the features of exos along with the functions of exo‐related miRNAs. Further, we explore the interplay between exosomal miRNAs and OS in OP and summarize the functional role of exos in OP. Finally, we identify the advantages of exo‐based miRNA delivery in treatment strategies for OP. Our review seeks to improve the current understanding of the mechanism underlying OP pathogenesis and lay the foundation for the development of novel theranostic approaches for OP.