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Obesity-related juvenile form of cartilage lesions: a new affliction in the knees of morbidly obese children and adolescents

  • Magnetic Resonance
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Abstract

Objectives

Overweight and obesity are afflictions that lead to an increased risk of health problems including joint problems. The aim of the study was to assess the condition of articular cartilage in obese adolescent patients suffering from knee pain.

Methods

MRI of 24 knees of 20 morbidly obese patients, mean age 14.2 years, was performed in an open 1.0 Tesla MR system, where the cartilage, the quality and structure of the menisci, and the presence or absence of surrounding changes was examined.

Results

In all patients a cartilage lesion in at least one region of the knee could be detected. Retropatellar cartilage lesions have been found in 19 knees. Ten cartilage lesions grade I, and four lesions grade II have been described in the lateral compartment of the knee, whereas the medial compartment showed in eight cases a grade I, in 13 cases a grade II and in two cases a grade III cartilage lesion. Meniscal changes were assessed in most patients.

Conclusion

Morbidly obese children and adolescents show major abnormalities in the articular cartilage of the knee. Whether obesity alone is the causal factor for the development of the pattern of these changes, remains to be seen.

Key Points

• Morbidly obese children and adolescents often suffer from knee pain

• Prospective study showed cartilage and meniscal lesions in morbidly obese adolescents

• MRI is an adequate tool for assessing cartilage lesions even in morbidly obese patients

• It is unclear whether cartilage abnormalities are mainly due to mechanical overload

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Acknowledgements

This study is part of a funded project of the Jubilaeumsfonds of the Austrian National Bank, Project number 11977. There was no involvement of other sponsors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Joints and Cartilage, Department of Traumatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Harald K. Widhalm, Stefan Marlovits & Vilmos Vécsei

  2. MR Center, Department of Radiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Goetz H. Welsch

  3. Department of Trauma Surgery, University Hospital of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany

    Goetz H. Welsch

  4. Department of Radiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Albert Dirisamer

  5. Department of Radiology, Private Hospital Rudolfinerhaus, Vienna, Austria

    Andreas Neuhold

  6. Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology, Vienna, Austria

    Martijn van Griensven

  7. Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Rudolf Seemann

  8. Division of Nutrition and Metabolism, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Kurt Widhalm

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  1. Harald K. Widhalm
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  2. Stefan Marlovits
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  9. Kurt Widhalm
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Correspondence to Harald K. Widhalm.

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Widhalm, H.K., Marlovits, S., Welsch, G.H. et al. Obesity-related juvenile form of cartilage lesions: a new affliction in the knees of morbidly obese children and adolescents. Eur Radiol 22, 672–681 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-011-2281-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-011-2281-5

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