Thickness Of Femoral Articular Cartilage Research Articles

Ultrasound Measurement of Femoral Articular Cartilage Thickness Before and After Marathon Running.

The purpose of this study was to use ultrasonography to measure femoral articular cartilage thickness changes during marathon running, which could support MRI studies showing that deformation of knee cartilage during long-distance running is no greater than that for other weight-bearing activities. Participants included 38 marathon runners with no knee pain or history of knee injury, aged 18-39. Ultrasound images of the femoral articular cartilage were taken two hours before and immediately after the race. Femoral articular cartilage thickness was measured at both the medial and lateral femoral condyles. The maximum change in femoral articular cartilage thickness, measured at the left outer lateral femoral condyle, was 6.94% (P=.006). All other femoral articular cartilage thickness changes were not significant. A change in femoral articular cartilage thickness of 6.94% supports our hypothesis that long-distance running does not induce deformational changes greater than that of regular daily activities. This study using ultrasonography supports MRI evidence that knee cartilage tolerates marathon running well.

The effect of attending rehabilitation after traumatic knee joint injury on femoral articular cartilage morphology in collegiate rugby players with a history of intracapsular knee joint injury during two-year consecutive rugby seasons.

This present study aimed to compare ultrasonographic measures of femoral articular cartilage during two-year seasons between collegiate rugby players who have attended supervised rehabilitation following intracapsular knee joint injury and those without a history of knee injury. Using a prospective observational study design, 12 male collegiate rugby players with a previous history of intracapsular knee joint injury who have received and completed supervised rehabilitation following their injury and 44 players without knee joint injury participated in this study. Ultrasonographic images were used to verify changes in femoral articular cartilage thickness and cross-sectional area (CSA) with or without a previous history of knee joint injury over two consecutive rugby seasons. Significant time main effects were observed for the lateral condylar thickness (p < 0.001), the intercondylar thickness (p = 0.001), the medial condylar thickness (p < 0.001), and CSA (p < 0.001). No significant interactions nor group main effects were identified for all femoral articular cartilage (p < 0.05). Collegiate rugby players demonstrated a decrease in femoral articular cartilage thickness and CSA over two-year consecutive rugby seasons. These findings indicate that engaging in collegiate rugby induces alterations in femoral articular cartilage structure. Furthermore, there were no differences in all femoral cartilage outcome measures between rugby players with and without a previous history of traumatic knee joint injury. Therefore, attending supervised rehabilitation at the time of their knee joint injury appeared to reduce the impact of a previous history of intracapsular knee joint injury on the change in femoral articular cartilage thickness and CSA among active rugby players.

Multiparity as a Potential Cause of the Articular Cartilage Degradation in the Knee Joint; Sonographic Evaluation in the Postmenopausal Women

Background: Pain in knee joint is prime cause of disability particularly among postmenopausal women. Ultrasound is a non-invasive and safe imaging modality for the evaluation of knee joint pathologies. Objective: To prove multiparity as a potential cause of femoral cartilage thinning inside knee joint causing pain in postmenopausal women. Methodology: Two hundred knee of 100 postmenopausal women of various parity were conveniently selected. Patients with all other risk factors of the knee joint pain which acts as effect modifying factors were excluded. Femoral articular cartilage was measured at the lateral, central and medial aspect of the knee joint and their average was calculated. Results: 51.12 ±4.46 years was the mean age of patients (ranging from 46 to 60 years). A strong negative relation was found between the parity of the patient and the femoral articular cartilage thickness at the lateral, central and medial aspect of the knee joint of all the patients with a p-value less than 0.1. Significant variation was observed in the femoral articular cartilage thickness in various parties. Conclusion: The femoral articular cartilage decreases in size significantly with an increase in the number of&#x0D; deliveries (parity). So, multiparity is one of the potential causes of femoral cartilage degradation in knees joint.

Femoral Cartilage Thickness in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis and Its Relation to Vitamin D

Abstract Background Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease characterized by different degrees of skin fibrosis and visceral organ involvement. The etiology of SSc remains obscure; the disease appears to be the result of a multistep and multifactorial process, including immune system alterations, under the influence of genetic and exogenous factors. The aim of this work is to study levels of vitamin D in relation to the femoral cartilage thickness (FCT) in patients with SSc and to analyze the associations between the (FCT), vitamin D levels, SSc- disease severity score. Patients and methods This is a cross sectional study which included 40 adult systemic sclerosis patients diagnosed according to ACR/EULAR (2013) classification criteria of systemic sclerosis. Patients were categorized into two groups according to vitamin D sufficiency; Group I: n = 14, sufficient vitamin D (level ≥ 30 ng/ml), Group II: n = 26, insufficient vitamin D (level &amp;lt; 30 ng/ml). Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH] D) were assessed by (ELISA). The thickness of femoral articular cartilage was measured by muscloskeletal ultrasound. Three measurements were taken from each knee: lateral femoral condyle (LFC), femoral intercondylar area (ICA) and medial femoral condyle (MFC). Results The majority of patients (60%) had thin femoral cartilage of knee joint, we found that (35%) of patients had sufficient vitamin D level while (65%) of patients had insufficient vitamin D level. We compared the insufficient vitamin D level group with sufficient vitamin D level group according to femoral cartilage thickness, and concluded that vitamin D level related to femoral cartilage thickness at left medial condylar area and left lateral condyle, meanwhile we found no relation between disease severity and cartilage thickness or vitamin D level. There was significant relation between vitamin D sufficiency and sex of studied patients more in females, also showed significant inverse correlation between parity in females and femoral cartilage thickness at Rt intercondylar area and Rt medial condyle. There was highly significant statistical relation between disease severity grades and proximal muscle weakness among studied patients. Conclusion Vitamin D level has significant relation with femoral cartilage thickness in SSc patients in two of six of measured cartilage areas and proximal muscle weakness was associated with vitamin D insufficiency and disease severity.

Ultrasonographic assessment of femoral cartilage thickness in patients with Helicobacter pylori infection.

Helicobacter pylori is a major cause of gastritis and a potential trigger of inflammatory disease. The effect of Hpylori infection on distal femoral cartilage has yet to be evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate femoral cartilage thickness in patients with Hpylori infection and to find whether this infection affects femoral cartilage thickness. This cross-sectional study included 199 patients. To measure the thickness of femoral articular cartilage, 99 patients with Hpylori infections and 100 with Hpylori-negative controls were enrolled into two groups. The measurements were made using linear probe ultrasonography with the patients in supine positions and their knees in maximum flexion. Demographic, clinical, endoscopic and laboratory data were collected for all patients. Both the right and left femoral condyles had thinner cartilage thickness in the Hpylori-positive group than in the Hpylori-negative group (P=.016, P=.036). For the intercondylar area and lateral femoral condyles, although the Hpylori-positive patients had thinner femoral cartilage thickness than the Hpylori-negative individuals for both extremities, this finding was not statistically significant (P>.05). Femoral cartilage was thinner in patients with Hpylori than patients without Hpylori for right and left medial femoral condyles. This study suggests that Hpylori infections may affect femoral cartilage thickness and potentially increase the risk of cartilage degeneration.

Reliability of a Novel Semiautomated Ultrasound Segmentation Technique for Assessing Average Regional Femoral Articular Cartilage Thickness

Ultrasound imaging is a clinically feasible tool to assess femoral articular cartilage and may have utility in tracking early knee osteoarthritis development. Traditional assessment techniques focus on measurements at a single location, which can be challenging to adopt for novice raters. To introduce a novel semiautomated ultrasound segmentation technique and determine the intrarater and interrater reliability of average regional femoral articular cartilage thickness and echo intensity of a novice and expert rater. Descriptive observational study. Orthopedic clinic. Fifteen participants (mean [SD]; age 23.5 [4.6]y, height = 172.6 [9.3]cm, mass = 79.8 [15.7]kg) with a unilateral history of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction participated. None. One rater captured anterior femoral cartilage images of the participants' contralateral knees using a transverse suprapatellar ultrasound assessment. The total femoral cartilage cross-sectional area of each image was segmented by a novice and expert rater. A novel custom program automatically separated the cartilage segmentations into medial, lateral, and intercondylar regions to determine the cross-sectional area and cartilage length. The average cartilage thickness in each region was calculated by dividing the cross-sectional area by the cartilage length. Echo intensity was calculated as the average gray-scale pixel value of each region. Two-way random effect intraclass correlations coefficient (ICC) for absolute agreement were used to determine the interrater reliability between a novice and expert rater, as well as the intrarater reliability of the novice rater. The novice rater demonstrated excellent intrarater (ICC [2,k] range = .993-.997) and interrater (ICC [2,k] range = .944-.991) reliability with the expert rater of all femoral articular cartilage average thickness and echo intensity regions. The novel semiautomated average cartilage thickness and echo-intensity assessment is efficient, systematic, and reliable between an expert and novice rater with minimal training.

Ultrasonographic assessment of femoral cartilage thickness in patients with and without uveitis in Behçet's disease.

The objective for this study is to evaluate the femoral cartilage thickness in patients with/without uveitis in Behçet's disease (BD). Patients with BD aged 18-70years were included. The demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were recorded. The thickness of femoral articular cartilage was measured with musculoskeletal ultrasound. Cartilage thickness was measured bilaterally from the central points of medial condyle (MFC), lateral condyle (LFC), and intercondylar area (ICA). 20 patients with uveitis [uveitis (+)] and 20 patients without uveitis [uveitis (-)] were included. Both right and left MFC and LFC had statistically significant thinner cartilage in uveitis (+) group (p < 0.05). For the ICA, uveitis (+) patients had thinner femoral cartilage than uveitis (-) patients; however, in the left side, statistically significance could not be detected. Femoral cartilage was thinner in uveitis (+) patients than in uveitis (-) patients in BD. This relationship between uveitis and femoral cartilage thickness may be helpful in the prevention and early treatment of cartilage degeneration.

Efficacy and Safety of a Stimulator Using Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Combined with Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation in Patients with Painful Knee Osteoarthritis.

Objective Studies regarding the combination of ultrasound and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) are rarely reported. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the efficacy and safety of a stimulator using low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) combined with TENS in patients with painful knee osteoarthritis (OA). We evaluated the effectiveness of this therapy against pain, physical function, and cartilage regeneration. Moreover, we aim to prove the superiority of the effects of LIPUS combined with TENS therapy compared with only TENS therapy. Methods Of the 40 included patients, aged 45–85 years with painful knee OA, 20 patients received only TENS therapy and 20 patients received LIPUS combined with TENS therapy for 8 weeks (a total of more than 80 treatment sessions). We evaluated visual analogue scale (VAS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) osteoarthritis index, MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and femoral articular cartilage (FAC) thickness. The evaluation was performed at three visits: visit 1 (V1, pretreatment, within 28 days after screening), visit 2 (V2, posttreatment period 1, ±3 days after treatment), and visit 3 (V3, posttreatment period 2, 21 ± 3 days after treatment). Results We expected that LIPUS combined with TENS therapy would be superior to only TENS therapy. However, there was no significant difference between the two therapies. In the within-group comparison, both treatments (only TENS therapy and LIPUS with TENS therapy) demonstrated statistical differences from baseline values for pain and physical function outcomes. FAC thickness showed no significant differences after treatment in both groups. Conclusion The effects of a stimulator using LIPUS with TENS on pain relief and functional improvement were not superior to the only TENS therapy. Cartilage regeneration, which was expected as an additional benefit of LIPUS, was also not significantly evident. Therefore, further investigation is warranted to determine whether the combination therapy is beneficial. This trial is registered with KCT0003883.

Topographical Variation of Human Femoral Articular Cartilage Thickness, T1rho and T2 Relaxation Times Is Related to Local Loading during Walking.

Early detection of degenerative changes in the cartilage matrix composition is essential for evaluating early interventions that slow down osteoarthritis (OA) initiation. T1rho and T2 relaxation times were found to be effective for detecting early changes in proteoglycan and collagen content. To use these magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods, it is important to document the topographical variation in cartilage thickness, T1rho and T2 relaxation times in a healthy population. As OA is partially mechanically driven, the relation between these MRI-based parameters and localized mechanical loading during walking was investigated. MR images were acquired in 14 healthy adults and cartilage thickness and T1rho and T2 relaxation times were determined. Experimental gait data was collected and processed using musculoskeletal modeling to identify weight-bearing zones and estimate the contact force impulse during gait. Variation of the cartilage properties (i.e., thickness, T1rho, and T2) over the femoral cartilage was analyzed and compared between the weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing zone of the medial and lateral condyle as well as the trochlea. Medial condyle cartilage thickness was correlated to the contact force impulse ( r = 0.78). Lower T1rho, indicating increased proteoglycan content, was found in the medial weight-bearing zone. T2 was higher in all weight-bearing zones compared with the non-weight-bearing zones, indicating lower relative collagen content. The current results suggest that medial condyle cartilage is adapted as a long-term protective response to localized loading during a frequently performed task and that the weight-bearing zone of the medial condyle has superior weight bearing capacities compared with the non-weight-bearing zones.

Comparison of Intact Knee Cartilage Thickness in Patients with Traumatic Lower Extremity Amputation and Nonimpaired Individuals.

The aim of this study was to assess the femoral articular cartilage thickness of the intact knee in patients with traumatic lower extremity amputation compared with nonimpaired individuals. A total of 30 male patients with traumatic lower extremity amputation (mean [SD] age, 31.2 [6.3] yrs) and a random sample of 53 age-matched and body mass index-matched male nonimpaired individuals (mean [SD] age, 29.8 [6.3] yrs) participated in the study. Exclusion criteria were age younger than 18 yrs, history of significant knee injury, previous knee surgery, or rheumatic disease. The femoral articular cartilage thickness was measured using ultrasound at the midpoints of the medial condyle, the intercondylar notch, and the lateral condyle. Ultrasonographic cartilage measurement was performed on the intact side of the patients with amputation and on both sides of the nonimpaired individuals. The femoral articular cartilage thickness of the intact knees of the patients with amputation was significantly decreased at the lateral and medial condyles compared with the nonimpaired individuals (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the measurements at the intercondylar notch between the patients with amputation and the nonimpaired individuals (P > 0.05). There was a premature cartilage loss in the intact limb knee of the patients with traumatic amputation. This result supports the view that patients with traumatic lower extremity amputation are at increased risk for developing knee osteoarthritis in the intact limb.

Ultrasonographic assessment of diurnal variation in the femoral condylar cartilage thickness in healthy young adults.

In vivo measurement of articular cartilage thickness is a significant marker of structural joint damage in many inflammatory or noninflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. The aim of this study was to assess the diurnal variation of femoral condylar cartilage thickness (FCT) in young adults by using ultrasonography. The thickness of femoral articular cartilage was measured in healthy volunteers at 8:00-9:00 a.m. and 4:00-5:00 p.m. on the same day using standard sonographic methods. Three midpoint measurements were taken from each knee at the lateral femoral condyle, femoral intercondylar area, and medial femoral condyle. The FCT significantly decreased in all the areas assessed. The maximal decrease (in millimeters) in the mean (standard deviation) FCT was in the right lateral femoral condyle (0.21 [0.24]) and left medial femoral condyle (0.21 [0.21]) followed by the right medial femoral condyle (0.19 [0.23]), left lateral femoral condyle (0.19 [0.19]), left femoral intercondylar area (0.13 [0.30]), and right femoral intercondylar area (0.11 [0.33]). The mean diurnal change in FCT from a.m. to p.m. reached up to 10.6%. This study suggests that the FCT significantly decreased in all of the measured areas from a.m. to p.m. Future studies, particularly those assessing the effect of any pharmacologic or nonpharmacologic applications on cartilage thickness in the weight-bearing joints, should be designed bearing in mind that cartilage thickness has diurnal variations. Assessment of diurnal variation in cartilage thickness in elderly osteoarthritic or nonosteoarthritic populations warrants further research.

AB0996 Ultrasonographic Measurement of Femoral Cartilage Thickness in Acromegalic Patients

ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to evaluate the femoral cartilage thicknesses of acromegalic patients using ultrasound (US).MethodsSixty-two patients diagnosed with acromegaly (30 F, 32 M) were included. Patients' demographic...

Decreased Femoral Cartilage Thickness in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis

BackgroundSystemic sclerosis (SSc), or scleroderma, is a severe connective tissue disease. Although musculoskeletal involvement is frequent and causes significant functional disability in patients with SSc, articular cartilage thickness has not been previously investigated. The aim of this study was to compare the femoral cartilage thickness (FCT) in patients with SSc with that of controls who were matched for age, body mass index and osteoarthritis prevalence. MethodsThe thickness of femoral articular cartilage was measured by ultrasonography in patients and controls. Three midpoint measurements were taken from each knee: lateral femoral condyle (LFC), femoral intercondylar area and medial femoral condyle (MFC). ResultsForty female patients with SSc and 85 female controls were included. In patients with SSc, 18 (45.0%) had diffuse SSc, 18 (45.0%) had limited SSc, 1 (2.5%) had overlap (polymyositis) and 3 (7.5%) had SSc sine scleroderma. The mean FCT measurements of patients with SSc at MFC of the right and left knees (1.86 and 1.84 mm, respectively) and LFC of the left knee (1.93 mm) were statistically lower than in the controls (right and left MFC, 2.23 and 2.25 mm, respectively, P < 0.0001, and left LFC 2.15 mm, P = 0.026). ConclusionsPatients with SSc had thinner femoral cartilage compared with controls. The underlying possible mechanisms of thin FCT may be multifactorial, and there may be many influencing factors like immune activation, vasculopathy, oxidative stress and synovial fibrosis or markers of cartilage degradation. The possible factors influencing the change in cartilage thickness or metabolism in patients with SSc require further research.

Ultrasonographic measurement of femoral cartilage thickness in acromegalic patients

Joint involvement is one of the most frequent clinical complications of acromegaly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the femoral cartilage thicknesses of acromegalic patients using ultrasound (US). Sixty-two patients diagnosed with acromegaly (30 F, 32 M) were included. Patients' demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded. The thickness of the femoral articular cartilage was measured using a 6- to 18-MHz linear probe. Measurements were performed bilaterally from three points (medial condyle, intercondylar area, and lateral condyle). Of the patients, 14 (22.5%) reported pain in the knee joints. A significantly higher femoral articular cartilage thickness was determined in the patients compared with the controls (all parameters, p < 0.001). US measurements results from all points were consistent, but these values were not correlated with levels of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Analysis of acromegaly patients as active (n = 37) or inactive (n = 25) revealed no significance with respect to femoral cartilage thickness. Acromegalic patients seem to have thicker femoral articular cartilages irrespective of disease activity state.

Age and obesity alter the relationship between femoral articular cartilage thickness and ambulatory loads in individuals without osteoarthritis

Articular cartilage is sensitive to mechanical loading, so increased risk of osteoarthritis in older or obese individuals may be linked to changes in the relationship between cartilage properties and extrinsic joint loads. A positive relationship has been reported between ambulatory loads and cartilage thickness in young individuals, but whether this relationship exists in individuals who are older or obese is unknown. This study examined the relationship between femoral cartilage thickness and load, measured by weight × height and the peak adduction moment, in young normal-weight (28 subjects, age: 28.0 ± 3.8 years, BMI: 21.9 ± 1.9 kg/m(2)), middle-aged normal-weight (27 subjects, 47.0 ± 6.5 years, 22.7 ± 1.7 kg/m(2)), young overweight/obese (27 subjects, 28.4 ± 3.6 years, 33.3 ± 4.6 kg/m(2)), and middle-aged overweight/obese (27 subjects, 45.8 ± 7.2 years, 31.9 ± 4.4 kg/m(2)) individuals. On the lateral condyle, cartilage thickness was positively correlated with weight × height for all groups (R(2) = 0.26-0.20) except the middle-aged overweight/obese. On the medial condyle, weight × height was significantly correlated only in young normal-weight subjects (R(2) = 0.19), as was the case for the correlation between adduction moment and medial-lateral thickness ratio (R(2) = 0.20). These results suggest that aging and obesity are both associated with a loss of the positive relationship between cartilage thickness and ambulatory loads, and that the relationship is dependent on the compartment and whether the load is generated by body size or subject-specific gait mechanics.

Sonographic assessment of hyaline cartilage thickness in the knee at different views distinct from the standard view with the knee fully flexed

Purpose: Studies of cadavers or pathological specimens from postsurgical knee arthroplasty patients have shown that the measurement of femoral articular cartilage thickness (FACT) is accurate and reproducible by ultrasound (US). US can be used in the assessment of the cartilage damage in patients with rheumatic disorders, particularly osteoarthritis of the knee. However, the traditional method of using ultrasound to measure cartilage thickness requires hyperflexion of the knee, which is often a difficult maneuver for these patients. The aim of this study was to find an effective alternative method to measure the FACT by US, using a minimally flexed or an extended knee. Methods: Twenty right knees from twenty recruited volunteers (13 females and 7 males) with a mean age of 32.6 (range 22-52) years were evaluated by US using a GE Logiq e machine equipped with 8-13 MHz linear transducer. The FACT was measured in transverse view with the knee fully flexed. Two longitudinal views of the medial and lateral femoral condyles (FC) were obtained at the anterior aspect with the knee flexed at 140° and at the posterior aspect with the knee extended (Figure). The intraobserver agreement of the thickest of the FACT measured by a rheumatologist with US experience was assessed in each view in 20 knees. An intraobserver and the interobserver agreement of the different views between two operators was evaluated in 6 knees. Spearman's correlations were used to assess the correlation between different views. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests were used to check for average differences. Results: Overall, the correlations of other views with the fully flexed (gold standard) view were good (0.85 or higher) for both raters with the exception of the lateral FC in the posterior view of the extended knee. The correlation between the two operators was strong (above 0.95) for all views except the posterior lateral FC [Rho=0.638, p=0.173]. There were no significant mean differences between fully flexed and the other views within rater, nor for corresponding views between raters. Absolute value differences between views and raters were generally small, except for some larger discrepancies involving the extended lateral view. The mean of thickest FACT was 20 mm (SD 3.79) for the lateral FC and 20.4 mm (SD 3.48) for the medial FC at the standard view. In a longitudinal view with the knee flexed at 140° it was 20.3 mm (3.5 SD) for the lateral FC and 20.3 (3.78 SD) for the medial FC. In the posterior view with the extended knee the mean of the FACT for lateral and medial FC was 19.1mm (3.9 SD) and 20.7 mm (3.6 SD), respectively. Conclusions: Sonographic assessment of the FACT using the longitudinal anterior view with the knee at 140° of flexion and at the posterior aspect with extended knee at the medial FC demonstrated good comparability to the gold standard fully flexed knee. Further studies are required to explore the use of these measurements as a surrogate of the standard view in patients with knee osteoarthritis with restricted flexion of the knee.

The effect of dietary administration of 2-oxoglutaric acid on the cartilage and bone of growing rats

2-Oxoglutaric acid (2-Ox), a precursor to hydroxyproline - the most abundant amino acid in bone collagen, exerts protective effects on bone development during different stages of organism development; however, little is known about the action of 2-Ox on cartilage. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the influence of dietary 2-Ox supplementation on the growth plate, articular cartilage and bone of growing rats. A total of twelve male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in the study. Half of the rats received 2-oxoglutarate at a dose of 0·75 g/kg body weight per d in their drinking-water. Body and organ weights were measured. Histomorphometric analyses of the cartilage and bone tissue of the femora and tibiae were conducted, as well as bone densitometry and peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). Rats receiving 2-Ox had an increased body mass (P<0·001) and absolute liver weight (P=0·031). Femoral length (P=0·045) and bone mineral density (P=0·014), overall thickness of growth plate (femur P=0·036 and tibia P=0·026) and the thickness of femoral articular cartilage (P<0·001) were also increased. 2-Ox administration had no effect on the mechanical properties or on any of the measured pQCT parameters for both bones analysed. There were also no significant differences in histomorphometric parameters of tibial articular cartilage and autofluorescence of femoral and tibial growth plate cartilage. Dietary supplementation with 2-Ox to growing rats exerts its effects mainly on cartilage tissue, having only a slight influence on bone. The effect of 2-Ox administration was selective, depending on the particular bone and type of cartilage analysed.

Ultrasonographic measurement of the femoral cartilage thickness in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

To compare the femoral cartilage thickness values of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients with those of age-matched, healthy women and to find out whether cartilage thickness changes with the clinical parameters. A cross-sectional controlled study. A secondary care center and a tertiary care center. Thirty-three women with PCOS (mean age: 23.7 ± 3.5 years; 66 knees) and 30 healthy control women matched for age and body mass index (mean age: 24.8 ± 4.2 years; 60 knees). Measurement of knee cartage thickness of infertile PCOS patients. The thickness of femoral articular cartilage measured with an ultrasound with a linear probe (7-12 MHz) as well as three midpoint measurements taken from each knee: the lateral condyle, intercondylar area, and medial condyle. The demographic and clinical features of the PCOS patients, the laboratory evaluations, and the endometrial thickness values were recorded, and the three midpoint measurements were taken from each knee. The PCOS patients had thicker cartilage values than the control group at all measurement sites. There was no correlation between the clinical parameters and the cartilage thickness values of PCOS patients. Our findings support the possible favorable effects of estrogen and androgens in PCOS patients. However, our data cannot determine whether PCOS patients have less risk of developing osteoarthritis later in life because they also have higher BMI values. The possible long-term changes in cartilage thickness in PCOS patients require further study.

Ultrasound validity in the measurement of knee cartilage thickness

Objective:To assess the multiexaminer reproducibility and the accuracy comparing with cadaver anatomic specimens of ultrasound (US) measurement of femoral articular cartilage (FAC) thickness.Methods:In 8 flexed cadaver knees, FAC thickness was...