This special supplemental issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint
Surgery represents selected papers from the Thirteenth International
Symposium on Bone Circulation, which was a meeting of the Association Research
Circulation Osseous (ARCO) that took place from September 15 through 17, 2005,
at Imperial College, University of London, London, United Kingdom. The meeting
was held in combination with the Fracture-healing, Angiogenesis, and Bone
Blood Flow workshop of the International Society for Fracture Repair
(ISFR).
The goals of the ARCO organization are to update the knowledge base
concerning bone circulation and angiogenesis as they pertain to clinical
practice. The ARCO group, which meets every other year, conducted a two-day
symposium on bone circulation, organized by Ines L.H. Reichert, MRCS, MD, PhD,
who is the ARCO Vice-President for Europe. The proceedings of the first day
were concentrated on avascular pathology of the hip, knee, and spine, and the
proceedings of the second day were focused on vascularity in fracture-healing.
A selection of outstanding papers, the abstracts of which were published in
the British volume of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery
(Orthopaedic Proceedings. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2006;88 [Suppl II]:303-10),
were presented by authors from a wide range of countries, including Japan,
South Korea, The Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Germany. Various eminent
guest speakers contributed further to the success of the symposium, and their
manuscripts are included in this supplement. The presentation of papers was
followed by a one-day workshop of the ISFR, chaired by Professor David Marsh,
in which basic scientists and clinicians had been invited to discuss the
interrelationship of fracture-healing, angiogenesis, and the blood flow in
bone. Also offered that day was a discussion forum of ARCO, chaired by
Professor David S. Hungerford, on topics relevant to the state-ofthe-art
developments and controversies in the treatment and assessment of
osteonecrosis.
This supplement is a compilation of twenty-five peer-reviewed manuscripts
selected from more than fifty review lectures and presentations of original
research at this London meeting. The material encompasses many different
disciplines that deal with bone circulation and osteonecrosis. This
multidisciplinary approach is reflected in the articles, which range from
basic science to clinical outcomes. We believe that this supplement represents
a nice summary of many of the latest principles and the state of the art
concerning bone circulation and osteonecrosis.
We would like to acknowledge certain individuals who were integral to this
meeting. Anita A. Reed, PhD, from Oxford, helped Dr. Ines Reichert in planning
and organizing the ISFR workshop. Professor David Marsh gave his full support
and enthusiasm as president of the International Society for Fracture Repair,
and Dr. Mohammed Akmal, as treasurer of the International Society for Fracture
Repair, provided the important web links. Tremendous advice was given by
Professor Fred W. Heatley, emeritus, Professor Sean P. Hughes, emeritus, and
Mrs. Anne McCarthy. The Wolfson Conference Centre at the Hammersmith Hospital
(special thanks to Lucy O'Sullivan and Claire Cooper) provided the
organization at Imperial College. Fundraising was assisted by Mr. Raju S.
Ahluwalia.
Specifically, we would like to thank Dr. Khaled Saleh, who helped us with
reviews and fundraising for this supplement. A special thank you is extended
to Dr. Thorsten M. Seyler and Colleen Kazmarek for their assistance with the
editing process. We would also like to thank various sponsors, including
Biomet (Warsaw, Indiana), Dr. Jean Gardeniers (Radboud University Nijmegen
Medical Centre, The Netherlands), Dr. Kyung-Hoi Koo (Seoul National University
College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea), Orthobiologics (Stryker, Newbury,
United Kingdom), OrthoLogic (Tempe, Arizona), IGEA (Technology for Clinical
Biophysics, Carpi, Italy), Smith and Nephew (Memphis, Tennessee), Stryker
Orthopaedics (Mahwah, New Jersey), Synthes (Welwyn Garden City, United
Kingdom), Wright Medical Technology (Arlington, Tennessee), and Zimmer
(Warsaw, Indiana).
For more information or to obtain information about future meetings of
ARCO, please visit the website at
.