Abstract
Monocyte chemotactic activity of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) synovial fluid was measured by a membrane filter method using human peripheral monocytes.
Fifty-one samples from 38 patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD), who were managed in our department from 1992 to 1994, and nine normal samples from five volunteers were assessed. The patients with TMD were classified according to the classification proposed by Japanese Society for TMJ. The TMD samples consisted of two samples of type II disorders, 32 samples of type III and 17 samples of type IV. Out of 32 samples of type III, 29 samples were from closed-lock of the TMJ.
The results showed that monocyte chemotactic activity of the TMD samples tended to be higher than that of normal samples but there was no significant difference between them. There was no correlation between the individual classification of TMD and chemotactic activity. Monocyte chemotactic activity, however, had a positive correlation with both the limitation of maximum pain-free opening and the visual analog scale of pain.
