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Detection of changes in cartilage water content using MRI T2-mapping in vivo

https://doi.org/10.1053/joca.2002.0847Get rights and content
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Abstract

Objectives Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent chronic disease in the elderly, and it is generally diagnosed at an advanced state when treatment is difficult if not impossible. The early form of OA is characterized by an elevated water content in the cartilage tissue. The purpose of this study was to verify in vivo if changes in the water content of patellar cartilage typically occurring in early OA can be detected using T2 mapping MRI methods.

Design Twenty healthy volunteers performed 60 knee bends in order to compress their patellar cartilage thereby reducing its water content. MR images of the patellar cartilage were acquired immediately following exercise and after 45 min of rest. Patellar cartilage thickness and T2 maps were determined and their difference between the time points evaluated.

Results Cartilage thickness increased by 5.4±1.5% from 2.94±0.15 mm to 3.10±0.15 mm (P< 0.001) following 45 min of rest, while T2 increased by 2.6±1.0% from 23.1±0.5 ms to 23.7±0.6 ms (P< 0.05).

Conclusion Small, physiologic changes in the water content of patellar cartilage and the concomitant change in proteoglycan and collagen density following exercise can be detected using MRI. The proposed T2-mapping method, together with other non-invasive MR cartilage imaging techniques, could aid in the early diagnosis of OA. Copyright 2002 OsteoArthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Early osteoarthritis, Water content, MRI, T2-mapping.

Abbreviations

dGEMRIC, Delayed Gadolinium Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Cartilage
FLASH, Fast Low Angle Shot
IDL, Interactive Data Language
MR, Magnetic Resonance
MRI, Magnetic Resonance Imaging
OA, Osteoarthritis
PG, Proteoglycan
RARE, Rapid Acquisition with Relaxation Enhancement
ROI, Region of Interest
SC1, Initial percentage solid content of cartilage
SEM, Standard Error of the Mean
SNR, Signal to Noise Ratio
V1,2, Cartilage volume pre- and post-exercise
ΔWC, Percentage reduction of cartilage water content following exercise.

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Address correspondence to: Dr C. Leiss, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Medical Physics, Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Michaelisstr. 9, D-24105 Kiel, Germany. Tel.: +49-431-597-3156; Fax: +49-431-597-3127; E-mail:[email protected]