T2 measurements of cartilage in osteoarthritis patients with meniscal tears.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to quantitatively assess cartilage degeneration via T2 mapping to compare patients with and those without meniscal tears.


METHODS
Thirty-seven patients (18 men, mean age +/- SD, 65.7 +/- 7.8 years; 19 women, mean age, 63.8 +/- 12.0 years) with clinical symptoms of osteoarthritis were studied on 3-T MRI using a 2D multiecho spin-echo sequence for T2 mapping. Meniscal signal and morphology were qualitatively graded and correlated to the T2 values of cartilage. Analysis of covariance, Bonferroni multiple comparison correction, and Spearman's correlation coefficients were used for statistical analysis.


RESULTS
Patients with meniscal tears (median +/- interquartile range, 50.1 +/- 6.1 milliseconds) had significantly (p = 0.021) higher T2 values of cartilage than those without meniscal tears (45.7 +/- 4.8 milliseconds). T2 values of cartilage were significantly higher in the medial compartment than in the lateral compartment in patients with medial meniscal tears (p = 0.018).


CONCLUSIONS
T2 measurements are increased in patients with meniscal tears; this finding adds support to the theory of an association of osteoarthritis with damage to both the menisci and hyaline cartilage.
Friedrich
Klaus M
KM
Department of Radiology, New York University, Center for Biomedical Imaging, New York, NY 10016, USA. klaus.friedrich@nyumc.org
Shepard
Timothy
T
de Oliveira
Valesca Sarkis
VS
Wang
Ligong
L
Babb
James S
JS
Schweitzer
Mark
M
Regatte
Ravinder
R
D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000473:pathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies