Objective:To examine the relationship between longitudinal fluctuations in synovitis with change in pain and cartilage in knee osteoarthritis.Methods:Study subjects were patients 45 years of age and ...older with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis from the Boston Osteoarthritis of the Knee Study. Baseline and follow-up assessments at 15 and 30 months included knee magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), BMI and pain assessment (VAS) over the last week. Synovitis was scored at 3 locations (infrapatellar fat pad, suprapatellar and intercondylar regions) using a semiquantitative scale (0–3) at all 3 time points on MRI. Scores at each site were added to give a summary synovitis score (0–9).Results:We assessed 270 subjects whose mean (SD) age was 66.7 (9.2) years, BMI 31.5 (5.7) kg/m2; 42% were female. There was no correlation of baseline synovitis with baseline pain score (r = 0.09, p = 0.17). The change in summary synovitis score was correlated with the change in pain (r = 0.21, p = 0.0003). An increase of one unit in summary synovitis score resulted in a 3.15-mm increase in VAS pain score (0–100 scale). Effusion change was not associated with pain change. Of the 3 locations for synovitis, changes in the infrapatellar fat pad were most strongly related to pain change. Despite cartilage loss occurring in over 50% of knees, synovitis was not associated with cartilage loss in either tibiofemoral or patellofemoral compartment.Conclusions:Change in synovitis was correlated with change in knee pain, but not loss of cartilage. Treatment of pain in knee osteoarthritis (OA) needs to consider treatment of synovitis.
In 1992, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) instituted the accelerated approval regulations that allow drugs or biologics for serious conditions that fill an unmet medical need to be approved on ...the basis of a surrogate endpoint or an intermediate clinical endpoint. The current definition of a serious condition includes chronic disabling conditions, such as osteoarthritis (OA), and thereby provides expanded opportunities for the use of biomarkers for regulatory approval of drugs for OA. The use of surrogates or intermediate clinical endpoints for initial regulatory approval of a drug or biologic requires confirmation in a post-marketing study of a drug effect on a clinically relevant outcome, such as on how a patient feels, functions or survives. Current FDA guidance requires that the post-marketing approval (PMA) study be ongoing during the time of initial drug approval. This white paper arose out of the need to brainstorm trial designs that might be suitable for PMA of drugs initially approved, on the basis of a surrogate or intermediate clinical endpoint, for treatment of OA to alter disease progression, abnormal function or pathological changes in the morphology of the joint. In this white paper we define the concept and regulations regarding accelerated approval and propose two major study design scenarios for PMA trials in OA. The long-term goal is to discuss and refine these designs in consultation with regulatory agencies in order to facilitate development of drugs to fill the large unmet need in OA.
Summary Osteoarthritis (OA), a leading cause of disability, affects 27 million people in the United States and its prevalence is rising along with the rise in obesity. So far, biomechanical or ...behavioral interventions as well as attempts to develop disease-modifying OA drugs have been unsuccessful. This may be partly due to antiquated imaging outcome measures such as radiography, which are still endorsed by regulatory agencies such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in clinical trials. Morphological magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows unparalleled multi-feature assessment of the OA joint. Furthermore, advanced MRI techniques also enable evaluation of the biochemical or ultrastructural composition of articular cartilage relevant to OA research. These compositional MRI techniques have the potential to supplement clinical MRI sequences in identifying cartilage degeneration at an earlier stage than is possible today using morphologic sequences only. The purpose of this narrative review is to describe compositional MRI techniques for cartilage evaluation, which include T2 mapping, T2* Mapping, T1 rho, dGEMRIC, gagCEST, sodium imaging and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). We also reviewed relevant clinical studies that have utilized these techniques for the study of OA. The different techniques are complementary. Some focus on isotropy or the collagen network (e.g., T2 mapping) and others are more specific in regard to tissue composition, e.g., gagCEST or dGEMRIC that convey information on the GAG concentration. The application and feasibility of these techniques is also discussed, as they will play an important role in implementation in larger clinical trials and eventually clinical practice.
Objectives
Medial meniscal body extrusion ≥ 3 mm on MRI is often considered “pathologic.” The aims of this study were to (1) assess the adequacy of 3 mm as cut-off for “pathological” extrusion and ...(2) find an optimal cut-off for meniscal extrusion cross-sectionally associated with radiographic knee osteoarthritis, bone marrow lesions (BMLs), and cartilage damage.
Methods
Nine hundred fifty-eight persons, aged 50–90 years from Framingham, MA, USA, had readable 1.5 T MRI scans of the right knee for meniscal body extrusion (measured in mm). BMLs and cartilage damage were read using the whole organ magnetic resonance imaging score (WORMS). Knee X-rays were read according to the Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) scale. We evaluated the performance of the 3-mm cut-off with respect to the three outcomes and estimated a new cut-off maximizing the sum of sensitivity and specificity.
Results
The study persons had mean age of 62.2 years, 57.0% were women and the mean body mass index was 28.5 kg/m
2
. Knees with radiographic osteoarthritis, BMLs, and cartilage damage had overall more meniscal extrusion than knees without. The 3-mm cut-off had moderate sensitivity and low specificity for all three outcomes (sensitivity between 0.68 95% CI 0.63–0.73 and 0.81 0.73–0.87, specificity between 0.49 0.45–0.52 and 0.54 0.49–0.58). Using 4 mm maximized the sum of sensitivity and specificity and improved the percentage of correctly classified subjects (from between 54 and 61% to between 64 and 79%).
Conclusions
The 4-mm cut-off may be used as an alternative cut-off for denoting pathological meniscal extrusion.
Key Points
•
Medial meniscal body extrusion is strongly associated with osteoarthritis.
•
The 3
-
mm cut-off for medial meniscal body extrusion has high sensitivity but low specificity with respect to bone marrow lesions, cartilage damage, and radiographic osteoarthritis.
•
The 4
-
mm cut-off maximizes the sensitivity and specificity with respect to all three osteoarthritis features.
Summary Objective To discuss terminology, radiological differential diagnoses and significance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-detected subchondral bone marrow lesions (BMLs) of the knee joint. ...Methods An overview of the published literature is presented. In addition, the radiological appearance and differential diagnosis of subchondral signal alterations of the knee joint are discussed based on expert consensus. A recommendation for terminology is provided and the relevance of these imaging findings for osteoarthritis (OA) research is emphasized. Results A multitude of differential diagnoses of subchondral BMLs may present with a similar aspect and signal characteristics. For this reason it is crucial to clearly and specifically define the type of BML that is being assessed and to use terminology that is appropriate to the condition and the pathology. In light of the currently used terminology, supported by histology, it seems appropriate to apply the widely used term “bone marrow lesion” to the different entities of subchondral signal alterations and in addition to specifically and precisely define the analyzed type of BML. Water sensitive sequences such as fat suppressed T2-weighted, proton density-weighted, intermediate-weighted fast spin echo or short tau inversion recovery (STIR) sequences should be applied to assess non-cystic BMLs as only these sequences depict the lesions to their maximum extent. Assessment of subchondral non-cystic ill-defined BMLs on gradient echo-type sequences should be avoided as they will underestimate the size of the lesion. Differential diagnoses of OA related BMLs include traumatic bone contusions and fractures with or without disruption of the articular surface. Osteonecrosis and bone infarcts, inflammation, tumor, transient idiopathic bone marrow edema, red marrow and post-surgical alterations should also be considered. Conclusion Different entities of subchondral BMLs that are of relevance in the context of OA research may be distinguished by specific imaging findings, patient characteristics, symptoms, and history and are discussed in this review.
Acute adductor injuries account for the majority of acute groin injuries; however, little is known about specific injury characteristics, which could be important for the understanding of etiology ...and management of these injuries. The study aim was to describe acute adductor injuries in athletes using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Male athletes with acute groin pain and an MRI confirmed acute adductor muscle injury were prospectively included. MRI was performed within 7 days of injury using a standardized protocol and a reliable assessment approach. 156 athletes presented with acute groin pain of which 71 athletes were included, median age 27 years (range 18‐37). There were 46 isolated muscle injuries and 25 athletes with multiple adductor injuries. In total, 111 acute adductor muscle injuries were recorded; 62 adductor longus, 18 adductor brevis, 17 pectineus, 9 obturator externus, 4 gracilis, and 1 adductor magnus injury. Adductor longus injuries occurred at three main injury locations; proximal insertion (26%), intramuscular musculo‐tendinous junction (MTJ) of the proximal tendon (26%) and the MTJ of the distal tendon (37%). Intramuscular tendon injury was seen in one case. At the proximal insertion, 12 of 16 injuries were complete avulsions. This study shows that acute adductor injuries generally occur in isolation from other muscle groups. Adductor longus is the most frequently injured muscle in isolation and in combination with other adductor muscle injuries. Three characteristic adductor longus injury locations were observed on MRI, with avulsion injuries accounting for three‐quarters of injuries at the proximal insertion, and intramuscular tendon injury was uncommon.
Imaging for osteoarthritis Hayashi, D; Roemer, F.W; Guermazi, A
Annals of physical and rehabilitation medicine,
06/2016, Letnik:
59, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Abstract Osteoarthritis (OA) is a widely prevalent disease worldwide and, with an increasing ageing society, is a challenge for the field of physical and rehabilitation medicine. Technologic advances ...and implementation of sophisticated post-processing instruments and analytic strategies have resulted in imaging playing a more and more important role in understanding the disease process of OA. Radiography is still the most commonly used imaging modality for establishing an imaging-based diagnosis of OA. The need for an effective non-surgical OA treatment is highly desired, but despite on-going research efforts no disease-modifying OA drugs have been discovered or approved to date. MR imaging-based studies have revealed some of the limitations of radiography. The ability of MR to image all relevant joint tissues within the knee and to visualize cartilage morphology and composition has resulted in MRI playing a key role in understanding the natural history of the disease and in the search for new therapies. Our review will focus on the roles and limitations of radiography and MRI with particular attention to knee OA. The use of other modalities (e.g. ultrasound, nuclear medicine, computed tomography (CT), and CT/MR arthrography) in clinical practice and OA research will also be briefly described. Ultrasound may be useful to evaluate synovial pathology in osteoarthritis, particularly in the hand.
Objective
Medial meniscal extrusion is known to be related to structural progression of knee osteoarthritis. However, it is unclear whether medial meniscal extrusion is more strongly associated with ...cartilage loss in certain medial femorotibial subregions than in others.
Methods
Segmentation of the medial tibial and femoral cartilage (baseline; 1‐year followup) and the medial meniscus (baseline) was performed in 60 participants with frequent knee pain (mean ± SD ages 61.3 ± 9.2 years, body mass index 31.3 ± 3.9 kg/m2) and with unilateral medial radiographic joint space narrowing (JSN) grades 1–3, using double‐echo steady‐state magnetic resonance images. Medial meniscal extrusion distance and extrusion area (percentage) between the external meniscal and tibial margin at baseline, and longitudinal medial cartilage loss in 8 anatomic subregions were determined.
Results
A significant association (Pearson's correlation coefficient) was seen between medial meniscal extrusion area in JSN knees and cartilage loss over 1 year throughout the entire medial femorotibial compartment. The strongest correlation was with cartilage loss in the external medial tibia (r =−0.34, P < 0.01 in JSN; r =−0.30, P = 0.02 in knees without JSN).
Conclusion
Medial meniscal extrusion was associated with subsequent medial cartilage loss. The external medial tibial cartilage may be particularly vulnerable to thinning once the meniscus extrudes and its surface is exposed to direct, nonphysiological, cartilage‐to‐cartilage contact.
Sprifermin (recombinant human fibroblast growth factor-18), a potential disease-modifying osteoarthritis (OA) drug, demonstrated dose-dependent effects on femorotibial cartilage thickness (by ...quantitative magnetic resonance imaging MRI) in the phase II FORWARD study. This post-hoc analysis evaluated the potential effects of sprifermin on several articular structures in the whole joint over 24 months using semi-quantitative MRI assessment.
Patients aged 40–85 years with symptomatic radiographic knee OA, Kellgren–Lawrence grade 2 or 3, and medial minimum joint space width ≥2.5 mm in the target knee were randomized (1:1:1:1:1) to receive three double-blinded, once-weekly, intra-articular injections of sprifermin 30 μg or 100 μg or placebo every 6 (q6mo) or 12 months. 1.5- or 3 T MRIs were read using the Whole-Organ Magnetic Resonance Imaging Score (WORMS) system at baseline and 24 months. Change from baseline at 24 months on compartment and/or whole knee level was assessed for cartilage morphology, bone marrow lesions (BMLs), and osteophytes by delta-subregional and delta-sum (DSM) approaches. Menisci, Hoffa-synovitis, and effusion-synovitis were also evaluated for worsening.
549 patients were included. Dose-dependent treatment effects from baseline to 24 months were observed on cartilage morphology (sprifermin 100 μg q6mo vs placebo; mean DSM (95% confidence interval CI) −0.6 (−1.5, 0.2); less cartilage worsening) in the entire knee and BMLs sprifermin 100 μg q6mo vs placebo; mean DSM (95% CI) −0.2 (−0.5, 0.1) in the patellofemoral compartment. No effects over 24 months were observed on osteophytes, menisci, Hoffa-synovitis or effusion-synovitis.
Positive effects associated with sprifermin were observed for cartilage morphology changes, and BML improvement. There were no meaningful negative or positive effects associated with sprifermin in the other joint tissues examined.
Introduction
Patients with schizophrenia suffer from cognitive difficulties expressed in the form of complaints as well as poor insight. The interaction of these two factors makes the management of ...these patients more difficult.
Objectives
To assess subjective cognitive complaints in a population of schizophrenics and study its relationship to insight.
Methods
Our study was a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study of 72 stabilized schizophrenics followed up at the outpatient clinic. Subjective cognitive complaints were assessed by the SSTICS, clinical symptoms by the PANSS, and insight by the SAI-E.
Results
The mean age of our population was 46.83± 11.6 years. The patients had a low socio-economic level in 70.1%. They were unemployed in 46.9% , consumed alcohol in 23.6%, and consumed tobacco in 58,6% of the cases. the total score on the PANSS scale was 46. They had an average score of 25 on the total SSTICS score and 20,1 on the SAI-E. Cognitive complaint scores were significantly correlated with improved insight (p=0,00),low socio-economic level (p=0.04),alcoholism (p=0.001) and smoking (p=0.01)
Conclusions
Cognitive complaints in schizophrenia could be influenced by the level of clinical insight and reflect a deep malaise, requiring a more targeted and optimized management
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
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