The Effect Of Carboxymethyl Chitosan And Sodium Hyaluronate On The Chondral Defects Of The Rabbit's Temporomandibular Joints

Objective: As of other joints, the articular cartilage of temporomandibular joints (TMJ) has limited capacity for repair. Osteochondral defects of TMJ can only partially repair with fibrous tissue. Carboxymethyl chitosan and sodium hyaluronate are new biomaterials with many excellent features especially on the tissue repairing. The objective of the present study was to define the effect of carboxymethyl chitosan and sodium hyaluronate on the healing of chondral defects of TMJ.Methods: 27 adult rabbits were divided into four groups randomly: group A, carboxymethyl chitosan group (10); group B, sodium hyaluronate group(10); group C, postoperative-control group (5); group D, normal control group (2). Osteochondral defects were made in the mandibular condyle of the rabbits, 2% carboxymethyl chitosan 2. Oral and sodium hyaluronate 1. Oml were applied to group A and group B locally, rabbits were killed after postoperative 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 12 weeks correspondingly, and normal control group were killed after 1 week and 12 weeks. The repair tissue was studied by gross observation and histologically.Results: In the case of sodium hyaluronate group(10),postoperative- control group(5), the defects were repaired with fibrous tissue. However, the defects of carboxymethyl chitosan group were repaired with cartilage-like tissue. During the repair stage, no degeneration were observed in carboxymethyl chitosan group; the degeneration of sodium hyaluronate group were much slighter than that of postoperative-control group, degenerations of which were serious at the end of 12 weeks.Conclusions: Osteochondral defect in mandibular condyle accords with the request of study model of repair following injury of cartilage. Both carboxymethyl chitosan and sodium hyaluronate have protective effect on thedegeneration after acute injury of articular cartilage. Carboxymethyl chitosan has promotive effect on the repair of articular cartilage of TMJ. Sodium hyaluronate has not promotive effect on the repair of articular cartilage of TMJ.Postgraduate Gang Dong(Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery) Directed by Ningyi Li, Jianjun Yang, Wei Shang...