[Enzyme studies of synovial fluid from osteoarthritis knee joints (author's transl)]

In 40 patients who were operated on for meniscopathy, accompanied by more or less severe arthroses of the knee joints, the total activity of LDH-T and of the LDH-H isoenzyms could be evaluated. The data show that severe arthroses without any synovitic reactions as well as cases with inactive chronic synovitis showed small total activities of LDH, whereas cases with clinical and macroscopic-anatomically active synovitis (including the so-called activated arthroses) showed a great total activity of LDH. Furthermore the dominance of LDH-H isoenzyms has been found to indicate an aerobic situation of the metabolism.