Koff M F, Amrami K K, Kaufman K R
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Biomechanics/Motion Analysis Laboratory, CHN LO-110L, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55901, USA.
Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2007 Feb;15(2):198-204. doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2006.07.007. Epub 2006 Sep 1.
The transverse relaxation time constant, T2, of articular cartilage has been proposed as a biomarker for osteoarthritis (OA). Previous studies have not clearly defined the relationship between cartilage T2 values and clinical methods of grading OA or known factors associated with OA. This study compared T2 values of patellar cartilage grouped by radiographic stage of patello-femoral OA and by body mass index (BMI).
T2 values of patellar cartilage were calculated for 113 subjects using images acquired on a 1.5 T clinical scanner. Radiographs of the patello-femoral joint were graded for OA grading using the Kellgren-Lawrence scale.
No differences of T2 values were found across the stages of OA (P = 0.25), but the factor of BMI did have a significant effect (P < 0.0001) on T2 value.
The results indicate the T2 values are not sensitive to changes in radiographic stages of OA. In addition, differences of T2 values with BMI signify structural changes occurring within the patello-femoral joint and that BMI may be considered a factor for a potential increase of T2 values. Future studies comparing different OA grading methods with T2 mapping may highlight the sensitivity of T2 mapping in a clinical setting.
关节软骨的横向弛豫时间常数T2已被提议作为骨关节炎（OA）的生物标志物。以往的研究尚未明确界定软骨T2值与OA分级临床方法或与OA相关的已知因素之间的关系。本研究比较了根据髌股OA的放射学分期和体重指数（BMI）分组的髌软骨T2值。
使用在1.5T临床扫描仪上采集的图像，计算了113名受试者的髌软骨T2值。使用Kellgren-Lawrence量表对髌股关节的X线片进行OA分级。
在OA的各个阶段未发现T2值有差异（P = 0.25），但BMI因素对T2值有显著影响（P < 0.0001）。
结果表明T2值对OA放射学分期的变化不敏感。此外，T2值随BMI的差异表明髌股关节内发生了结构变化，且BMI可能被视为T2值潜在升高的一个因素。未来比较不同OA分级方法与T2成像的研究可能会突出T2成像在临床环境中的敏感性。
