title: Correlation between subchondral bone plate thickness and cartilage degeneration in osteoarthritis of the ankle.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized not only by cartilage degeneration, but also subchondral bone changes. The subchondral bone plate (SBP) plays an important role in cartilage metabolism, and elucidation of the relationship between the SBP and cartilage degeneration would be helpful to determine the most appropriate treatment strategy for ankle OA. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the SBP and to compare it with cartilage degeneration with arthroscopic findings.
  
  
  METHODS
  Computed tomography (CT) was used to compare the thickness of the SBP of 11 ankle OA patients with that of 11 non-ankle OA patients in 9 areas of the talar dome. The French Society of Arthroscopy (SFA) grading system was used to analyze the relationship between findings on the thickness of SBP and on articular cartilage degeneration in ankle OA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SBP in ankle OA was significantly thicker than that of the non-OA ankle. The more severe the articular cartilage degeneration, the thicker the SBP became. The SBP on the sclerotic trabecular bone was significantly thicker than that on decreased trabecular bone. The SFA grade for sclerotic subchondral bone was significantly higher than that for decreased trabecular bone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that the thickness of SBP and the findings of subchondral bone such as decreased trabecular bone and sclerosis in CT are related to the cartilage degeneration of ankle OA, although a small number of patients were analyzed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Level III, comparative series.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Integrated Health & Sciences, Institute of Biomedical & Health Science, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan tnakasa0@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakasa
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Integrated Health & Sciences, Institute of Biomedical & Health Science, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Adachi
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Integrated Health & Sciences, Institute of Biomedical & Health Science, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Integrated Health & Sciences, Institute of Biomedical & Health Science, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ochi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D054544:Arthroplasty, Subchondral / Q000379:methods; D001182:Arthroscopy / Q000379:methods; D015519:Bone Density; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013639:Tarsal Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: ankle; computed tomography; osteoarthritis; subchondral bone plate