AGE-RELATED MORPHOLOGICAL AND MORPHOMETRIC CHANGES IN THE KNEE MENISCI OF WOMEN: A HISTOLOGICAL, HISTOCHEMICAL, AND QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Keywords:
knee meniscus, age-related changes, morphology, morphometry, women, menopause, osteoarthritis, histology, Uzbekistan.Abstract
Age-related degeneration of the knee menisci contributes substantially to the development and progression of knee osteoarthritis, which disproportionately affects women. The histomorphological trajectory of meniscal ageing in women, particularly across the perimenopausal transition, remains incompletely characterised. Objectives: To conduct a systematic histological, histochemical, and quantitative morphometric analysis of age-related changes in knee menisci across four age-defined groups of women, encompassing the reproductive, perimenopausal, and postmenopausal periods. Methods: Medial and lateral meniscal specimens were obtained from 130 women stratified into four age groups: Group I (25–44 years, n = 32), Group II (45–54 years, n = 34), Group III (55–64 years, n = 32), Group IV (65–80 years, n = 32), from intraoperative and autopsy sources at a tertiary orthopaedic centre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Specimens were analysed by haematoxylin-eosin, Masson's trichrome, Safranin-O/Fast Green, Alcian Blue, and Picrosirius Red staining with polarised light microscopy. Morphometric parameters included fibrochondrocyte density, collagen fibre alignment index, fibre bundle diameter, and zonal proteoglycan optical density. Results: Progressive and statistically significant deterioration was demonstrated across all parameters with advancing age. Fibrochondrocyte density declined from 47.6 ± 5.9 cells/mm² (Group I) to 19.8 ± 4.3 cells/mm² (Group IV; p < .001).
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