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Delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of the meniscus (dGEMRIM) in patients with knee osteoarthritis: relation with meniscal degeneration on conventional MRI, reproducibility, and correlation with dGEMRIC

  • Musculoskeletal
  • Published:
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Abstract

Objectives

To assess (1) whether normal and degenerated menisci exhibit different T1GD on delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of the meniscus (dGEMRIM), (2) the reproducibility of dGEMRIM and (3) the correlation between meniscus and cartilage T1GD in knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients.

Methods

In 17 OA patients who underwent dGEMRIM twice within 7 days, meniscus and cartilage T1GD was calculated. Meniscus pathology was evaluated on conventional MRI. T1GD in normal and degenerated menisci were compared using a Student’s t-test. Reproducibility was assessed using ICCs. Pearson’s correlation was calculated between meniscus and cartilage T1GD.

Results

A trend towards lower T1GD in degenerated menisci (mean: 402 ms; 95 % CI: 359–444 ms) compared to normal menisci (mean: 448 ms; 95 % CI: 423–473 ms) was observed (p = 0.05). Meniscus T1GD ICCs were 0.85–0.90. The correlation between meniscus and cartilage T1GD was moderate in the lateral (r = 0.52–0.75) and strong in the medial compartment (r = 0.78–0.94).

Conclusions

Our results show that degenerated menisci have a clear trend towards lower T1GD compared to normal menisci. Since these results are highly reproducible, meniscus degeneration may be assessed within one delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI simultaneously with cartilage. The strong correlation between meniscus and cartilage T1GD suggests concomitant degeneration in both tissues in OA, but also suggests that dGEMRIC may not be regarded entirely as sulphated glycosaminoglycan specific.

Key Points

• dGEMRIM T1 GD can possibly be used to assess meniscal degeneration;

• dGEMRIM yields highly reproducible meniscal T1 GD in early stage osteoarthritic patients;

• Concomitant degeneration of cartilage and meniscus tissue occurs in early stage osteoarthritis;

• dGEMRIC cannot be regarded as entirely sulphated glycosaminoglycan specific.

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Abbreviations

95 % CI:

95 % confidence interval

aMEN:

anterior horn of the meniscus

BMI:

body mass index

dGEMRIC:

delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage

dGEMRIM:

delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the meniscus

FSE:

fast spin echo

ICC:

intraclass correlation coefficient

MRI:

magnetic resonance imaging

OA:

osteoarthritis

PG:

proteoglycans

pMEN:

posterior horn of the meniscus

ROIs:

regions of interest

sGAG:

sulphated glycosaminoglycans

TI:

inversion times

wbFC:

weight-bearing cartilage of the femoral condyles

wbTP:

weight-bearing cartilage of the tibial plateaus

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Acknowledgements

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Prof. G.P. Krestin, MD, PhD. The authors of this manuscript declare relationships with the following companies: G.P. Krestin is a consultant to General Electric Healthcare and has a collaboration contract with them. The other authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies, whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article. This study has received funding by:

We acknowledge the SmartMix Programme of The Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs and The Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science for their financial support.

No complex statistical methods were necessary for this article. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects (patients) in this study. Methodology: prospective, observational, performed at one institution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Jasper van Tiel, Max Reijman, Pieter K. Bos, Jan A. N. Verhaar & Harrie Weinans

  2. Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Jasper van Tiel, Gyula Kotek, Esther E. Bron, Stefan Klein, Gabriel P. Krestin & Edwin H. G. Oei

  3. Department of Medical Informatics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Esther E. Bron & Stefan Klein

  4. Department of Biomechanical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Harrie Weinans

  5. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Harrie Weinans

  6. Department of Rheumatology, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Harrie Weinans

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  1. Jasper van Tiel
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Correspondence to Edwin H. G. Oei.

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van Tiel, J., Kotek, G., Reijman, M. et al. Delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of the meniscus (dGEMRIM) in patients with knee osteoarthritis: relation with meniscal degeneration on conventional MRI, reproducibility, and correlation with dGEMRIC. Eur Radiol 24, 2261–2270 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-014-3204-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-014-3204-z

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