Knees with distinct structural phenotypes are at increased risk for progression: a secondary analysis from the FNIH cohort

Abstract

Purpose: Imaging plays an important role in determining structural disease severity and potential suitability of patients recruited to DMOAD trials. From a structural perspective, it is knees with KL grades 2 and 3 that are commonly considered eligible for inclusion. While MRI-based phenotypic characterization of large cohort data is not available to date, it has been suggested that there may be 3 main structural phenotypes in OA, i.e., inflammation, meniscus/cartilage and subchondral bone. These may progress differently and represent distinct tissue targets for DMOAD approaches.