Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the histopathological changes of human temporomandibular joint osteoarthrosis following intra-articular injection of triamcinolone acetonide, and compare the results to these of control group.
Methods: The upper compartments of both joints of 10 goats were injected with 0.8 ml collagenase I to induce osteoarthrosis. The 10 goats were then equally divided into control group and experimental group. The first and second treatment were carried out 30 and 60 days after injection of collagenase I, respectively. The animals were sacrificed 90 days after the first treatment. The specimens of the animal TMJ were harvested, histologically examined under light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and scored in a subjective manner following the criteria which was a modification of the method of Mankin et al and Yoshimi et al. GLM model in SAS software package was adopted to compare the differences between the control group and experimental group.
Results: Under light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, the condyle, meniscus and glenoid fossa of the control group demonstrated distinct osteoarthrosis; the histopathologic changes in the experimental group was more serious than the control group, and the differences of the histologic scores were significant between the two groups (P<0.01).
Conclusion: Intra-articular injection of triamcinolone acetonide as a lytic agent will worsen for articular cartilage reparation.