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Bone Marrow Edema Syndrome

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Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

Abstract

Bone marrow edema syndrome (BMES) refers to transient clinical conditions and imaging alterations of the weight-bearing joints of the lower limbs. It usually affects middle-aged persons without a history of trauma. It usually lasts 3–9 months but can migrate to another part of the joint or to other joints. Its origin remains unclear. Transient demineralization of the hip, transient osteoporosis of the hip” (TOH) and regional migratory osteoporosis (RMO) are part of the same spectrum of disease. BMES is not an early aspect of avascular necrosis and never evolves to articular collapse. However, some clinical and imaging overlap exists between the transient and the irreversible lesions associated to bone marrow edema. MR imaging is the key technique to reach an early diagnosis. MR imaging follow-up is also necessary to demonstrate the resolution of the anomalies.

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Blum, A., Lecocq, S., Louis, M., Teixeira, P. (2013). Bone Marrow Edema Syndrome. In: Baur-Melnyk, A. (eds) Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Bone Marrow. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2011_445

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