Longitudinal analysis of cartilage T2 relaxation times and joint degeneration in African American and Caucasian American women over an observation period of 6 years – data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative

Abstract

Objectives To investigate the change in cartilage T2-values and structural degeneration in knee joints over 72 months in women of African American (AA) vs. Caucasian American (CA) ethnicity. Methods Knee 3T MRIs from baseline, 24, 48 and 72 month visits of 100 AA and 100 CA women from the OAI were assessed for cartilage T2-values and whole-organ magnetic resonance imaging (WORMS) score. Subjects were pair-matched by age, BMI, Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) score, clinical site and subcohort within the OAI. We compared the rate of change in whole knee cartilage T2-values and WORMS cartilage, bone marrow edema pattern (BMEP) and meniscus scores between the two ethnic groups using mixed random effects models. Results At 24 and 48 months 60 subjects and at 72 months 45 subjects per group were available for analysis resulting in 38 complete pairs with data of all time points. Compared to CA, cartilage T2-values in AA increased at a significantly faster rate at baseline (AA: 0.45ms/y, CA: 0.35ms/y, p=0.029) and averaged over 6 years (AA: 0.36ms/y, CA: 0.27ms/y, p=0.039) with changes in both groups reaching a plateau by 48 months. Cartilage, meniscus and BMEP scores tended to increase in both groups during follow-up, but rates of change did not differ by ethnicity. Conclusion Cartilage T2-values increased faster over 72 months in AA than CA, however changes in WORMS cartilage, meniscus and BMEP scores did not differ. T2-values may be able to distinguish ethnicity-related differences of cartilage degeneration at an early stage before differences in structural joint degeneration appear.

Synthetic MRI of the Knee: Phantom Validation and Comparison with Conventional MRI

“…The phantom-based accuracy and subject-based precision errors of T1, T2, and PD quantification appear at least acceptable for clinical use. A study investigating the Osteoarthritis Initiative cohort demonstrated a significant increase of cartilage T2 relaxation times over a period of 6 years, from 32 msec to 34 msec (6.3%) in participants with simultaneous worsening in the whole organ MRI cartilage score (27). Our model-corrected T2 phantom-based accuracy error of 1.4% and subject-based precision error of 4.4% suggest the capability of our technique for detecting such a magnitude of change, which may contrast with previously reported T2 accuracy errors of 5%-15% with steady-state free precession technique (8) and 10%-13% with a Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Grill pulse sequence (26).…”

Quantitative susceptibility mapping of articular cartilage in patients with osteoarthritis at 3T

“…One limitation of this study was that spatial variations of susceptibility values in different cartilage layers were not quantified in the whole knee cartilage, but only in five different compartments. Previous studies developed techniques examining the spatial variation of T 2 within the cartilage and reported changes in different layers with cartilage degeneration . It may be helpful to investigate the spatial variation of magnetic susceptibility in different layers of both healthy controls and OA patients to better localize areas of cartilage degeneration.…”

“…Previous studies developed techniques examining the spatial variation of T 2 within the cartilage and reported changes in different layers with cartilage degeneration. 40 It may be helpful to investigate the spatial variation of magnetic susceptibility in different layers of both healthy controls and OA patients to better localize areas of cartilage degeneration. Another limitation was that the present study was a cross-sectional comparison of the differences between OA patients and normal controls with a small number of participants per cohort.…”

Hyperintense signal alteration in the suprapatellar fat pad on MRI is associated with degeneration of the patellofemoral joint over 48 months: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative

“…Complete baseline and follow-up patellofemoral WORMS readings were available for the right knees of a sample of 443 of these potentially eligible subjects previously obtained by our group for several NIH-funded studies (Fig. 1) [22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. To minimize any potential influence caused by abnormalities of the extensor mechanism, and especially the quadriceps tendon in addition to inflammatory processes leading to effusion-synovitis, subjects showing these findings at baseline (extensor mechanism, n = 7; effusion-synovitis, n = 10) were excluded.…”