Relationships between cartilage thickness and subchondral bone mineral density in non-osteoarthritic and severely osteoarthritic knees: In vivo concomitant 3D analysis using CT arthrography.

Omoumi, P;Babel, H;Jolles, B M;Favre, J
(2019) Osteoarthritis and Cartilage — Vol. 27, n° 4, p. 621-629 (2019)

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Authors
  • Omoumi, PUCLouvain
    Author
  • Babel, H
    Author
  • Jolles, B M
    Author
  • Favre, J
    Author
Abstract
To test whether subchondral bone mineral density (sBMD) and cartilage thickness (CTh) of femoral condyles are correlated in knees without and with severe medial femorotibial osteoarthritis (OA), using a subregional analysis with computerized tomography (CT) arthrography. CT arthrograms of 50 non-OA (18 males, 58.7 (interquartile range (IQR) = 6.6 years)) and 50 severe medial OA (24 males, 60.5 (IQR = 10.7) years) knees, were retrospectively analyzed. Bone and cartilage were segmented using custom-designed software, leading to 3D models on which each point of the subchondral surface is given a CTh and sBMD value. The average sBMD and CTh were then calculated for the entire weight-bearing regions as well as specific subregions of interest. Linear bivariate and multivariable analyses were performed to test for relationships between sBMD and CTh (regional and subregional measures, or medial-to-lateral ratios), with confounders of age, gender, femoral bone size and femorotibial angle. In non-OA knees, the sBMD and CTh medial-to-lateral ratios were positively correlated for the total region and the external and internal subregions (r ≥ 0.341, P ≤ 0.015). In OA knees, sBMD and CTh medial-to-lateral ratios were negatively correlated for the total region and the external and central subregions (r ≤ -0.538, P < 0.001). Additional positive/negative relationships in the non-OA/OA knees were observed between sBMD and CTh measures in the medial compartment. The positive correlation between sBMD and CTh in non-OA knees, and the negative one in OA knees, bring support to the theory of a subchondral bone/cartilage functional unit, which could help to better understand the pathophysiology of OA.
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Citations

Omoumi, P., Babel, H., Jolles, B. M., & Favre, J. (2019). Relationships between cartilage thickness and subchondral bone mineral density in non-osteoarthritic and severely osteoarthritic knees: In vivo concomitant 3D analysis using CT arthrography. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 27(4), 621-629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2018.12.014 (Original work published 2019)