Subtle changes in structure or composition can lead to degeneration of articular cartilage such as in osteoarthritis, so it is significant to study the materials attribute of the degenerating articular cartilage. A new transient ultrasonic technique was introduced into this study for measuring the swelling effects of the degenerated cartilage. The swelling-induced strain was calculated based on the measurement result, and then the uniaxial module of the articular cartilag was extracted using Narmoneva's triphasic model. The ultrasonic observation showed that the strains induced by the nonuniform swelling are depth-dependent, and the strains are small in the deep zone and big in the middle and surface zones. The uniaxial modulus also revealed that the cartilage in the deep zone (E1 = 12.20) is harder than that in surface zone (E2 = 0.15). These results suggest that the transient ultrasound technique accompanied by triphasic model provides a quantitative means to study the degeneration of articular cartilage.
Cartilage Diseases ; diagnostic imaging ; Cartilage, Articular ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; Computer Simulation ; Edema ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Models, Biological ; Osmotic Pressure ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVETo observe the images of early lesions of condylar cartilage of osteoarthritic rats in synchrotron radiation diffraction enhanced imaging (DEI).

METHODSThe animal model of temporomandibular joint osteoarthrosis was established in rat following the method of partial resection of the joint disc. The changes of osteoarthritic condylar cartilage in different pathological stages were observed by DEI and compared with those in situ histopathological sections.

RESULTSWith DEI, straight and orbicular lines were detected in condylar cartilage 45 to 60 days after discs resection. The lines were confirmed by histopathology to be collagen degradation and tiny fissure formation inside the cartilage.

CONCLUSIONSDEI is capable of imaging the early stages of pathological changes of excised condylar cartilage such as collagen degradation and tiny fissure formation, and this technique is of potential value to clinical application.

Animals ; Cartilage, Articular ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Male ; Mandibular Condyle ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Radiography ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; X-Ray Diffraction ; methods

OBJECTIVE: To explore 3.0T MRI accurate measurement of knee cartilage thickness in healthy youth provides reliable anatomical parameters for quantitative diagnosis of osteoarthritis and accurate osteotomy of joint replacement. METHODS: From January 2013 to December 2013, 30 healthy young volunteers including 14 males and 16 females with an average age of (25.8±2.4) years old ranging from 22 to 33 years were recruited in Changchun, Jilin Province, and a 3.0T MRI scan was performed on the bilateral knee joints of each volunteer. The cartilage thickness was measured on the lateral femoral condyle (LFC), medial femoral condyle (MFC), lateral tibial plateau (LTP) and medial tibial plateau (MTP). RESULTS: In four regions of the knee joint:LFC, MFC, LTP and MTP, whether young men or women, there was no significant difference in cartilage thickness between the left and right knee joints (P>0.05). There were significant differences in knee cartilage thickness between healthy young men and women (P<0.05). In the same sex group, LFC cartilage thickness was thinner in the middle, thicker in front and rear;MFC cartilage thickness was the thinnest in front and gradually thickening from the front to the rear; LTP cartilage thickness was thickest in the middle, second in the rear and thinnest in the front;MTP cartilage thickness was the thinnest in the front, was relatively uniform in the middle and rear and thicker than that in the front. CONCLUSION In Northeast China, among healthy adults aged 22 to 33, gender difference may be an important factor in the difference of cartilage thickness in various regions of the knee joint. Regardless of whether male or female healthy young people, the cartilage thickness of the entire knee joint is unevenly distributed, but there is no significant difference in cartilage thickness in the same area between the left and right knee joints.
Adult ; Adolescent ; Humans ; Male ; Female ; Young Adult ; Cartilage, Articular/diagnostic imaging* ; Knee Joint/surgery* ; Osteoarthritis ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Femur

OBJECTIVETo observe therapeutic efficacy of osteoarthritis treated by electroacupuncture, and explore its function of promoting cartilage restoration.

METHODSAccording to random digital table, sixty cases of knee osteoarthritis (60 knees) were randomly divided into an electroacupuncture group and a physiotherapy group, 15 cases (30 knees) in each one. The electroacupuncture was applied at Neixiyan (EX-LE 4), Dubi (ST 35), Heding (EX-LE 2) and Xuehai (SP 10) in the electroacupuncture group, once every other day. The physiotherapy group was treated by medium-frequency therapeutic apparatus every day. For both groups, 4 weeks of treatment were required. The Lysholm knee scoring scale (LKSS) was used to evaluate and compare the knee joints function before and after treatment. At the same time, the GE Signa EXCITE Twin Speed HD 1.5T was used to take MRI examination of knee joints, and measure the T2 values in 10 sub-regions of the cartilage of tibiofemoral joints.

RESULTSCompared before treatment, the LKSS score of both groups were improved with significant differences except item demands for support (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). Between the two groups after treatment, there were significant differences on total score, item instability and swelling (all P < 0.05), the electroacupuncture group was better than the physiotherapy group, but no significant difference on the other items (all P > 0.05). In the electroacupuncture group after treatment, T2 value in anterior lateral tibial sub-region (LTa) was significantly lowered (P < 0.05), but no significant difference in the other nine sub-regions (all P > 0.05). In the physiotherapy group, T2 value in any sub-region was not significantly different before and after treatment (all P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONElectroacupuncture could effectively improve the symptom, sign and knee joint's function of patients with knee osteoarthritis. Compared with physiotherapy, it has more superior effect and considered as a better non-operative treatment for osteoarthritis. Electroacupuncture also has positive influence on T2 value in cartilage, indicating that electroacupuncture may have the function of promoting cartilage restoration.

Adult ; Aged ; Cartilage, Articular ; diagnostic imaging ; Electroacupuncture ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; diagnostic imaging ; therapy ; Radiography ; Treatment Outcome

ObjectiveCurrently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most commonly used imaging modality for observing the growth and development of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) after in vivo transplantation to treat osteoarthritis (OA). However, it is a challenge to accurately monitor the treatment effects of MSCs in the zone of calcified cartilage (ZCC) with OA. This is especially true in the physiological and biochemical views that are not accurately detected by MRI contrast agents. In contrast, ultrashort time echo (UTE) MRI has been shown to be sensitive to the presence of the ZCC, creating the potential for more effectively observing the repair of the ZCC in OA by MSCs. A special focus is given to the outlook of the use of UTE MRI to detect repair of the ZCC with OA through MSCs. The limitations of the current techniques for clinical applications and future directions are also discussed.

Data SourcesUsing the combined keywords: "osteoarthritis", "mesenchymal stem cells", "calcified cartilage", and "magnetic resonance imaging", the PubMed/MEDLINE literature search was conducted up to June 1, 2017.

Study SelectionA total of 132 published articles were initially identified citations. Of the 132 articles, 48 articles were selected after further detailed review. This study referred to all the important English literature in full.

ResultsIn contrast, UTE MRI has been shown to be sensitive to the presence of the ZCC, creating the potential for more effectively observing the repair of the ZCC in OA by MSCs.

ConclusionsThe current studies showed that the ZCC could be described in terms of its histomorphology and biochemistry by UTE MRI. We prospected that UTE MRI has been shown the potential for more effectively observing the repair of the ZCC in OA by MSCs in vivo.

Cartilage, Articular ; diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells ; physiology ; Osteoarthritis ; diagnostic imaging ; therapy

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease that involves degeneration of articular cartilage, limited intra-articular inflammation manifested by synovitis and changes in the subchondral bone. After the articular cartilage's stability and complex structure in the framework of pressure-proof were destruct, the ability to repair by itself was weak. Therefore early diagnosis in the treatment of osteoarthritis is a focal ponit. This paper addressed on the characteristics of diagnosis of OA in the relevant objective diagnostic methods.
Adult ; Aged ; Bone Density ; physiology ; Bone and Bones ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Calcification, Physiologic ; Cartilage, Articular ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Joints ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Radiography ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Synovial Membrane ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Ultrasonography

The objective of this research work is to prepare a new and reliable radiopharmaceutical for osteoarthral cartilage imaging. Chondroitin sulfate (CS) was labeled directly with 99mTc by "pretinning" method, the labeling efficiency was 79.30% +/- 1.72% and radiochemical purity was 90.12% +/- 1l.23% after filtration by use of asepsis filter membrane. The biodistribution of 99Tc-CS was studied at 10, 30 min and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 h respectively after caudal vein injection in normal mice,which showed that the radiolabeled product was washed out from blood quickly, and it was mainly excreted through kidney, but 99mTc-CS had distinctive characteristic of philo- cartilage. Scintigraphy of 99mTc-CS was performed on the rabbit with ostarthritis at 5 h after intravenous injection; the scintigram was clear,and the focus showed increased radiopharmaceutical uptake. The radioactivity ratio of the injured/uninjured side (T/NT) calculated over the region of interest (ROI) was 3.0 +/- 0.6 (P < 0.05). These results indicate that 99mTc-CS is an easily prepared compound with the characteristic of high philo-cartilage and it may be a new ideal cartilage imaging agent.
Animals ; Cartilage, Articular ; diagnostic imaging ; Chondroitin Sulfates ; Female ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Organotechnetium Compounds ; chemical synthesis ; Osteoarthritis ; diagnostic imaging ; Rabbits ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Radiopharmaceuticals ; chemical synthesis ; Random Allocation

Calcium Pyrophosphate ; metabolism ; Cartilage, Articular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Chondrocalcinosis ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Gout ; pathology ; Humans ; Knee Joint ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Menisci, Tibial ; metabolism ; pathology ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis ; etiology ; pathology ; Radiography

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively evaluate the relationship between T2 values of pre- and post-contrast magnetic resonance (MR) images of femoral cartilage in patients with varying degrees of osteoarthritis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 19 patients underwent delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage. Six regions of interest for T2 value measurement were obtained from pre- and post-contrast T2-weighted, sagittal, multi-slice, multi-echo, source images in each subject. Regions with modified Noyes classification grade 2B and 3 were excluded. Comparison of T2 values between pre- and post-contrast images and T2 values among regions with the grade 0, 1 and 2A groups were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Of a total of 114 regions, 79 regions showing grade 0 (n = 46), 1 (n = 18), or 2A (n = 15) were analyzed. The overall and individual T2 values of post-contrast images were significantly lower than those of pre-contrast images (overall, 35.3 +/- 9.2 [mean +/- SD] vs. 29.9 +/- 8.2, p < 0.01; range of individual, 28.9-37.6 vs. 27.1-36.4, p < 0.01). Pearson correlation coefficients showed a strong positive correlation between pre- and post-contrast images (rho-Pearson = 0.712-0.905). T2 values of pre- and post-contrast images of the grade 0 group were significantly lower than those of the grade 1/2A group (pre T2, p = 0.003; post T2, p = 0.006). CONCLUSION: T2 values of the femoral cartilage of the knee joint are significantly lower on post-contrast images than on pre-contrast images. Furthermore, these T2 values have a strong positive correlation between pre- and post-contrast images.
Adult ; Aged ; *Cartilage, Articular/pathology ; Contrast Media/*diagnostic use ; Female ; Femur ; Gadolinium DTPA/diagnostic use ; Humans ; Knee Joint ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/*methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/*diagnosis/pathology ; Retrospective Studies

Iterative decomposition of water and fat with echo asymmetry and the least-squares estimation (IDEAL) is a recently developed method for robust separation of fat and water with very high signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) efficiency. In contrast to conventional fat-saturation methods, IDEAL is insensitive to magnetic field (B0 and B1) inhomogeneity. The aim of this study was to illustrate the practical application of the IDEAL technique in reducing metallic artifacts in postoperative patients with metallic hardware. The IDEAL technique can help musculoskeletal radiologists make an accurate diagnosis particularly in musculoskeletal imaging by reducing metallic artifacts, enabling the use of contrast enhancement, improving SNR performance, and providing various modes of MR images with one scan parameter.
Adipose Tissue ; Adult ; Aged ; *Artifacts ; Body Water ; Cartilage, Articular/pathology ; Contrast Media/diagnostic use ; Humans ; Least-Squares Analysis ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/*methods ; Male ; Metals ; Middle Aged ; Phantoms, Imaging ; *Prostheses and Implants ; Signal-To-Noise Ratio