Purpose: This study was conducted to measure the boundary-lubricating ability and lubricin concentration of synovial fluid (SF) from patients with different stages of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs) and establish relationships between them.
Patients and methods: According to the imaging and clinical findings, TMD patients were divided into 3 subgroups: displaced disc with reduction, displaced disc without reduction, and osteoarthritis. The boundary-lubricating ability of SF was determined by the coefficient of friction (COF) of SF in vitro with a friction apparatus. The lubricin concentrations were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.
Results: The COF of SF in TMD patients was significantly higher than that of healthy control subjects, but no observed difference was found among patient subgroups. Furthermore, a significant decline in lubricin concentrations was found in the group with osteoarthritis, whereas there was no significant change in the other groups. However, a significant correlation was not found between the COF and the lubricin concentrations in our study.
Conclusions: These findings showed that distinct changes in lubricin and boundary-lubricating ability in the SF occurred with different stages of TMDs.
Copyright © 2010 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.