Association between meniscal volume and development of knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between meniscal volume, its change over time and the development of knee OA after 30 months in overweight/obese women. METHODS: Data from the PRevention of knee Osteoarthritis in Overweight Females study were used. This cohort included 407 women with a BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2, free of OA-related symptoms. The primary outcome measure was incident OA after 30 months, defined by one out of the following criteria: medial or lateral joint space narrowing (JSN) ≥ 1.0 mm, incident radiographic OA [Kellgren and Lawrence (K&L) ≥ 2], or incident clinical OA. The secondary outcomes were either of these items separately. Menisci at both baseline and follow-up were automatically segmented to obtain meniscal volume and delta-volumes. Generalized estimating equations were used to evaluate associations between the volume measures and the outcomes. RESULTS: Medial and lateral baseline and delta-volumes were not significantly associated to the primary outcome. Lateral meniscal baseline volume was significantly associated to lateral JSN [odds ratio (OR) = 0.87; 95% CI: 0.75, 0.99], while other measures were not. Medial and lateral baseline volume were positively associated to K&L incidence (OR = 1.32 and 1.22; 95% CI: 1.15, 1.50 and 1.03, 1.45, respectively), while medial and lateral delta-volume were negatively associated to K&L incidence (OR = 0.998 and 0.997; 95% CI: 0.997, 1.000 and 0.996, 0.999, respectively). None of the meniscal measures were significantly associated to incident clinical OA. CONCLUSION: Larger baseline meniscal volume and the decrease of meniscal volume over time were associated to the development of structural OA after 30 months in overweight and obese women.

[Physicians in the Swedish-German Association 1937-1945, who and why?]. / Läkarmedlemmar i Riksföreningen Sverige-Tyskland 1937-1945: vilka och varf'ör?

The national association Sweden-Germany (In Swedish: Riksföreningen Sverige-Tyskland; RST) was founded in 1937. The headquarters were located in Lund, in southern Sweden. The proclamation for the association gathered more than 400 signatures, among them 40 physicians. The purpose of the RST was to evaluate and eventually support the arguments of contemporary Nazi Germany, mainly in positive words, and to cultivate the ideological homogeneity within Sweden. During its historical boom period 1938-1943, RST had about 5600 members, of which nearly 200 were physicians. As a peak RST activity the summer summit meeting in Jönköping August, 1941, the members gathered and listened to lectures and proclamations mixed with music in a beautiful environment. The association published a periodical paper, in which members published articles on various themes related to German culture and politics, as well as commentaries on war changes. This essay discusses the RST-memberships of Swedish physicians. Reasons relevant for joining RST may be due to scientific contacts in Germany, or because of German relatives and close friends, if not political agreement with the German Nazi government. Some members chose to leave the association in disappointment after the German military attacks on neighbouring countries of Sweden in April 1940 (Denmark and Norway), although the association grew significantly from 1941-1943. The lesson to be learned from RST is that a leading academic profession, such as the Swedish physicians, participated with many prominent members in a friendship organistaion with the once victorious, but later defeated Germany during the turbulent years just before and during the Second World War. Further research efforts will focus on individual biographies and careers of some of these physicians, ranging from common country-side general practitioners to one Nobel laureate.