Medial Cartilage Volume Research Articles

P332 GLUCOSAMINE SULFATE IMPROVES QUALITY OF LIFE OF KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS PATIENTS IN THE GLUCOSAMINE UNUM IN DIE EFFICACY (GUIDE) TRIAL

Results: 41 subjects have completed baseline assessments and started the training intervention (Age: 65±8 years, BMI: 33.1±6.8kg/m2, Total WOMAC Score: 33±15). Of those, 17 have completed the training intervention. Due to imaging artifact in the medial compartment, articular cartilage from 14 medial tibias was segmented. All lateral tibias were included. There was no significant difference between groups for cartilage thickness as shown in the table, or any other clinical variables at baseline. However, medial cartilage volume (P= 0.039) was significantly lower in the sham group; and lateral denuded area (P=0.02) was significantly lower in the PRT group at baseline. Cartilage thickness (P=0.334 MT, P=0.445 LT), volume (P=0.419 MT, P=0.699 LT) and denuded area (P=0.739 MT, P=0.563 LT) did not change significantly following the training intervention. Overall strength increased significantly in the PRT group compared to the sham group following the training intervention. Conclusions: These interim results suggest cartilage thickness, volume and denuded area were not significantly different between groups following the training intervention. Overall muscle strength increased significantly in the PRT group compared to the sham group over time. Completion of the full complement of subjects in this ongoing trial will allow further analysis of the relationship between anabolic exercise and cartilage morphology in OA.

Comparison of conventional standing knee radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging in assessing progression of tibiofemoral joint osteoarthritis

Although the current recommendation is to measure radiographic joint space width (JSW) to assess structural change in osteoarthritis (OA), there is increasing interest in direct measurement of cartilage volume from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We performed a longitudinal study to compare change in both JSW and articular cartilage volume in subjects with symptomatic knee OA. JSW was measured in 28 subjects with knee OA (57% females, mean age 62.8+/-9.8 years) who had standing radiographs in full extension, where both radiographs had satisfactory alignment. Each subject had femoral, tibial and combined femoral and tibial cartilage volumes determined from T1-weighted fat saturated sagittal knee MRI. All subjects had a repeat of the knee radiograph and MRI 1.96+/-0.4 years later. At baseline there was a moderate, but statistically significant, correlation between JSW and femoral and tibial cartilage volumes in the medial tibiofemoral joint, which was strengthened by adjusting for medial tibial bone size (R=0.58-0.66, P=0.001). Although we observed a reduction in JSW and femoral and tibial cartilage volumes over the study period, there was no significant association between reduction in JSW and cartilage volume (R<0.13). There was a trend towards a significant association between change in medial tibiofemoral cartilage volume and joint replacement at 4 years (OR=9.0, P=0.07) but not change in medial tibiofemoral JSW (OR=1.1, P=0.92). Although there was a modest correlation between cartilage volume and JSW in the medial tibiofemoral compartment, there was no correlation between longitudinal change in these measures. Change in cartilage volume appears to be a better predictor of joint replacement. Further work in larger samples over a longer period of time will be needed to confirm these findings.

New scans from old: digital reformatting knee MRI

Purpose: To determine the accuracy of cartilage volume and bone areas measured from a 3D knee MRI sequence reformatted in different planes.Methods: MRI of 16 adult subjects (9 females, 7 males, age range 45–68 years) were acquired in the sagittal plane using a 3D T1-weighted fat suppressed spoiled gradient echo sequence. Medial and lateral tibial cartilage volumes were determined by processing images acquired in the sagittal plane and from the same image data reformatted in the coronal plane. Tibial plateau areas were determined by processing images acquired in the sagittal plane and reformatted in the axial plane.Results: Cartilage volumes calculated from the original sagittal acquisition and data reformatted into the coronal plane were similar. The average over- or under-estimation of the lateral and medial cartilage volume from the reformatted coronal scans compared to the sagittal sequences was 4.6% and 9.8% respectively. Similar medial and lateral tibial plateau areas were obtained when the sagittal data was reformatted in the axial plane. The average over- and under-estimate of lateral and medial tibial plateau areas from the reformatted axial scans compared to the originally acquired sagittal sequences was 6.5% and 6.8% respectively.Conclusion: Knee data acquired via MRI in one plane can be reformatted into different planes, providing comparable cartilage volumes and bone areas. As different planes through the knee may provide better visualization of different joint structures, this method may be useful clinically and as a research tool, while avoiding the cost associated with the prolonged scanning times associated with acquiring multiple planes.