title: New application of 18F-fluoride PET for the detection of bone remodeling in early-stage osteoarthritis of the hip.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recent studies have reported the acceleration of subchondral bone remodeling during the development of osteoarthritis (OA). However, it is not possible to evaluate such molecular abnormalities using conventional radiographic techniques. We have applied 18F-fluoride PET to the analysis of painful or dysplastic hips at various stages of OA and then compared this with radiographic findings and clinical findings.
  
  
  METHODS
  A consecutive series of 65 joints from 48 patients (average age, 40 years; range, 19-72 years) with a hip joint complaint or radiographic dysplastic hip were enrolled in this study. Twenty-five contralateral joints without any evidence of OA or clinical symptoms were assigned as a normal control group. Radiographic evaluations were performed on the basis of Kellgren and Lawrence grade and the minimum joint space. Clinical evaluations were performed using the grading scale for pain severity and the SUVmax was measured for each joint. The association between SUVmax and the radiographic or clinical findings was evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  18F-fluoride PET shows a significantly higher uptake value for progressive-stage OA cases than for early-stage cases and also shows a significantly higher uptake value in cases with severe pain. Even in early-OA-stage patients who do not show joint space narrowing on a plain x-ray, cases with severe pain show a significantly higher uptake value.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  18F-fluoride PET has great potential as an imaging method for diagnosing early-stage OA without any marked radiographic changes.
authors.affiliation: From the *Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, and †Department of Radiology, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inaba
authors.forename: Ukihide
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tateishi
authors.forename: Yohei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yukizawa
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ike
authors.forename: Tomio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saito
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016723:Bone Remodeling; D005260:Female; D005459:Fluorides / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D005459:Fluorides