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Pre-contrast T1 and cartilage thickness as confounding factors in dGEMRIC when evaluating human cartilage adaptation to physical activity

Tiderius, Carl Johan LU ; Hawezi, Zana K. LU ; Olsson, Lars E. LU orcid and Dahlberg, Leif E. LU (2019) In BMC Medical Imaging 20.
Abstract

Background: The dGEMRIC (delayed Gadolinium-Enhanced MRI of Cartilage) technique has been used in numerous studies for quantitative in vivo evaluation of the relative glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content in cartilage. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of pre-contrast T1 and cartilage thickness when assessing knee joint cartilage quality with dGEMRIC. Methods: Cartilage thickness and T1 relaxation time were measured in the central part of the femoral condyles before and two hours after intravenous Gd-DTPA2- administration in 17 healthy volunteers from a previous study divided into two groups: 9 sedentary volunteers and 8 exercising elite runners. Results were analyzed in superficial and a deep weight-bearing,... (More)

Background: The dGEMRIC (delayed Gadolinium-Enhanced MRI of Cartilage) technique has been used in numerous studies for quantitative in vivo evaluation of the relative glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content in cartilage. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of pre-contrast T1 and cartilage thickness when assessing knee joint cartilage quality with dGEMRIC. Methods: Cartilage thickness and T1 relaxation time were measured in the central part of the femoral condyles before and two hours after intravenous Gd-DTPA2- administration in 17 healthy volunteers from a previous study divided into two groups: 9 sedentary volunteers and 8 exercising elite runners. Results were analyzed in superficial and a deep weight-bearing, as well as in non-weight-bearing regions of interest. Results: In the medial compartment, the cartilage was thicker in the exercising group, in weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing segments. In most of the segments, the T1 pre-contrast value was longer in the exercising group compared to the sedentary group. Both groups had a longer pre-contrast T1 in the superficial cartilage than in the deep cartilage. In the superficial cartilage, the gadolinium concentration was independent of cartilage thickness. In contrast, there was a linear correlation between the gadolinium concentration and cartilage thickness in the deep cartilage region. Conclusion: Cartilage pre-contrast T1 and thickness are sources of error in dGEMRIC that should be considered when analysing bulk values. Our results indicate that differences in cartilage structure due to exercise and weight-bearing may be less pronounced than previously demonstrated.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Cartilage, dGEMRIC, Exercise, Sub-regional analyses
in
BMC Medical Imaging
volume
20
article number
1
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • pmid:31892314
  • scopus:85077463848
ISSN
1471-2342
DOI
10.1186/s12880-019-0399-0
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
1c2392ac-b9f6-4b85-9189-05292b16d839
date added to LUP
2020-01-20 15:29:49
date last changed
2024-05-01 04:20:38
@article{1c2392ac-b9f6-4b85-9189-05292b16d839,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: The dGEMRIC (delayed Gadolinium-Enhanced MRI of Cartilage) technique has been used in numerous studies for quantitative in vivo evaluation of the relative glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content in cartilage. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of pre-contrast T1 and cartilage thickness when assessing knee joint cartilage quality with dGEMRIC. Methods: Cartilage thickness and T1 relaxation time were measured in the central part of the femoral condyles before and two hours after intravenous Gd-DTPA<sup>2-</sup> administration in 17 healthy volunteers from a previous study divided into two groups: 9 sedentary volunteers and 8 exercising elite runners. Results were analyzed in superficial and a deep weight-bearing, as well as in non-weight-bearing regions of interest. Results: In the medial compartment, the cartilage was thicker in the exercising group, in weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing segments. In most of the segments, the T1 pre-contrast value was longer in the exercising group compared to the sedentary group. Both groups had a longer pre-contrast T1 in the superficial cartilage than in the deep cartilage. In the superficial cartilage, the gadolinium concentration was independent of cartilage thickness. In contrast, there was a linear correlation between the gadolinium concentration and cartilage thickness in the deep cartilage region. Conclusion: Cartilage pre-contrast T1 and thickness are sources of error in dGEMRIC that should be considered when analysing bulk values. Our results indicate that differences in cartilage structure due to exercise and weight-bearing may be less pronounced than previously demonstrated.</p>}},
  author       = {{Tiderius, Carl Johan and Hawezi, Zana K. and Olsson, Lars E. and Dahlberg, Leif E.}},
  issn         = {{1471-2342}},
  keywords     = {{Cartilage; dGEMRIC; Exercise; Sub-regional analyses}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{BMC Medical Imaging}},
  title        = {{Pre-contrast T1 and cartilage thickness as confounding factors in dGEMRIC when evaluating human cartilage adaptation to physical activity}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12880-019-0399-0}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s12880-019-0399-0}},
  volume       = {{20}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}