Abstract
Intra-articular administration of sodium hyaluronate is regarded as an effective therapy for temporomandibular disorders presenting limited mouth opening or arthrodynia, but the tran sportation of administered sodium hyaluronate to the surrounding tissues is unknown. In this study, fluorescein-labelled sodium hyaluronate was administered into the upper joint cavity of the monkey temporomandibular joint (TMJ), and fluorescence in the synovial fluid of the upper and lower joint cavity was examined immediately, then at 6 hours, 24 hours and 72 hours after administration. Then the TMJ was resected, and was fixed with neutral formalin containing 0.5% CPC, and a cryospecimen was prepared after decalcification with EDTA. Observation was carried out light microscopically under HE staining, and fluorescence distribution was examined with a confocal laser scanning microscope. Sodium hyaluronate administered into the upper joint cavity of the monkey TMJ disappeared from the joint cavity 72 hours after administration.
Transportation of administered sodium hyaluronate from the upper to the lower joint cavity through the articular disc or postdiscal connective tissue was hardly observed. The result suggests that sodium hyaluronate should be administered in the upper and lower joint cavity of the TMJ for the effective therapy of temporomandibular disorders.
