dGEMRIC

Background It has been demonstrated that weight loss improves symptoms in obese subjects with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). A parallel change in cartilage morphology remains to be demonstrated. Purpose To demonstrate a parallel change in cartilage morphology. Material and Methods Obese patients with KOA were examined before and after weight loss over 16 weeks. Target knee joints were radiographically assessed by the Kellgren/Lawrence grading (KLG) system. Patients with KLG-1 and 2 changes in the lateral compartment were included...

PURPOSE: Osteoarthritis (OA) is associated with the loss of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) during disease progression, which can be detected by glycosaminoglycan chemical exchange-dependent saturation transfer (gagCEST) MRI. Delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) is considered one of the standard methods for GAG quantification in vivo. This Phase I study assessed the correlation between gagCEST MRI and dGEMRIC in determining cartilage GAG concentration. Standard T2 mapping was used as a comparator with the two other methods...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the possibility of assessing knee cartilage with T2-mapping and delayed gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of cartilage (dGEMRIC) in one post-contrast MR examination at 3 Tesla (T). DESIGN: T2 mapping was performed in 10 healthy volunteers at baseline; directly after baseline; after 10 min of cycling; and after 90 min delay, and in 16 osteoarthritis patients before and after intravenous administration of a double dose gadolinium dimeglumine contrast agent, reflecting key dGEMRIC protocol elements...

BACKGROUND: Delayed Gadolinium Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Cartilage (dGEMRIC) can detect glycosaminoglycan loss in the acetabular cartilage of asymptomatic individuals with cam morphology. The aims of this study were to explore the relationship between cam morphology and dGEMRIC values, and to explore whether baseline dGEMRIC can predict the development of radiographic hip osteoarthritis. METHODS: Prospective cohort (SibKids) study with clinical, radiographic, and MRI assessment at baseline and five-year follow-up (n = 34)...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the utility of delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) and T2 mapping in evaluation of type II osteochondral lesions (OCLs) of the talus and define cutoff values for identifying patients with good/poor clinical outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 28 patients (mean age, 42.3 years) underwent T2 mapping and dGEMRIC at least 1.5 years (mean duration, 3.5 years) after microfracture (n = 12) or conservative (n = 16) treatment for type II OCL...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether assessment of morphological MRI sequences or delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) would have strong correlations with arthroscopic assessment of cartilage pathology in dogs with naturally occurring medial compartment pathology of the elbow. METHODS: Dogs tentatively diagnosed with medial coronoid disease had evaluation of their affected elbows using radiography, morphological MRI sequences, and dGEMRIC MRI evaluation prior to arthroscopy...

PURPOSE: To assess the feasibility of gadoteric acid for delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) and to compare the dGEMRIC values obtained using gadoteric acid with those obtained by an equimolar dose of Gd-DTPA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: At 3T, dGEMRIC of the wrist was performed twice using a T1 -weighted 3D-volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination sequence in 16 healthy volunteers (10 women; mean age 26.0 years) using gadoteric acid first and Gd-DTPA 3 weeks later...

PURPOSE: To study the relationship between 12-month leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) level and changes in estimated biochemical composition of tibiofemoral cartilage in postmenopausal women with mild knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: Originally, 87 volunteer postmenopausal women, age 60 to 68 yr, with mild knee OA (Kellgren Lawrence I/II and knee pain) participated in a randomized controlled, 4-month aquatic training trial (RCT), after which 76 completed the 12-month postintervention follow-up period...

The prevalence of cartilage lesions is much higher in football athletes than in the general population. Delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) has been shown to quantify regional variations of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) concentrations which is an indicator of early cartilage degeneration. The goal of this study is to determine whether dGEMRIC can be used to assess the influence in cartilage GAG concentration due to college level football play. Thirteen collegiate football players with one to four years of collegiate football play experience were recruited and both knee joints were scanned using a dedicated 8-channel phased array knee coil on a 3T MRI system...

It is uncertain whether subjects with mild knee osteoarthritis, and who may be at risk of osteoporosis, can exercise safely with the aim of improving hip bone strength. This RCT showed that participating in a high-impact exercise program improved femoral neck strength without any detrimental effects on knee cartilage composition. INTRODUCTION: No previous studies have examined whether high-impact exercise can improve bone strength and articular cartilage quality in subjects with mild knee osteoarthritis...

Cartilage loss is irreversible, and to date, no effective pharmacotherapies are available to protect or regenerate cartilage. Quantitative prestructural/compositional MR imaging techniques have been developed to characterize the cartilage matrix quality at a stage where abnormal findings are early and potentially reversible, allowing intervention to halt disease progression. The goal of this article is to critically review currently available technologies, present the basic concept behind these techniques, but also to investigate their suitability as imaging biomarkers including their validity, reproducibility, risk prediction and monitoring of therapy...

The incidence of osteochondral lesions, as well as osteoarthritis of the ankle joint following osteochondritis dissecans and trauma, has been reappraised in recent years. Consequently, an increasing number of surgical interventions using different cartilage repair techniques is performed in the ankle joint, which has resulted in a growing demand for repetitive and objective assessment of cartilage tissue and its repair. While morphological imaging does enable monitoring of macroscopic changes with increasing precision, it fails to provide information about the ultrastructural composition of cartilage...

Background and purpose - The natural history of focal cartilage defects (FCDs) is still unresolved, as is the long-term cartilage quality after cartilage surgery. It has been suggested that delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) is a biomarker of early OA. We aimed to quantitatively evaluate the articular cartilage in knees with FCDs, 12 years after arthroscopic diagnosis. Patients and methods - We included 21 patients from a cohort of patients with knee pain who underwent arthroscopy in 1999...

BACKGROUND: In addition to case reports of gadolinium-related toxicities, there are increasing theoretical concerns about the use of gadolinium for MR imaging. As a result, there is increasing interest in noncontrast imaging techniques for biochemical cartilage assessment. Among them, T2 mapping holds promise because of its simplicity, but its biophysical interpretation has been controversial. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We sought to determine whether (1) 3-T delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) and T2 mapping are both capable of detecting cartilage damage at the chondrolabral junction in patients with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI); and (2) whether there is a correlation between these two techniques for acetabular and femoral head cartilage assessment...

BACKGROUND: Delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) allows an objective, noninvasive, and longitudinal quantification of biochemical cartilage properties. Although dGEMRIC has been used to monitor the course of cartilage degeneration after periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) for correction of hip dysplasia, such longitudinal data are currently lacking for femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: (1) How does the mean acetabular and femoral dGEMRIC index change after surgery for FAI at 1-year followup compared with a similar group of patients with FAI treated without surgery? (2) Does the regional distribution of the acetabular and femoral dGEMRIC index change for the two groups over time? (3) Is there a correlation between the baseline dGEMRIC index and the change of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) at 1-year followup? (4) Among those treated surgically, can dGEMRIC indices distinguish between intact and degenerated cartilage? METHODS: We performed a prospective, comparative, nonrandomized, longitudinal study...

The study was performed to preoperatively assess the cartilage integrity of cervical intervertebral discs (IVDs) using Delayed Gadolinium-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Cartilage (dGEMRIC). Therefore, 53 cervical intervertebral discs of nine preoperative patients with neck and shoulder/arm pain scheduled for discectomy (five females, four males; mean age: 47.1 ± 8.4 years; range: 36-58 years) were included for biochemical analysis in this retrospective study. The patients underwent 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including biochemical imaging with dGEMRIC and morphological, sagittal T2 weighted (T2w) imaging...

BACKGROUND: Lesions in the meniscus are risk factors for developing knee osteoarthritis (OA), not least because of the role of the meniscus in the pathological progression of OA. Delayed gadolinium enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) has extensively been used to identify pre-radiographic cartilage changes in OA. In contrast, its counterpart with regard to examination of the meniscus, gadolinium enhanced MRI of meniscus (dGEMRIM), has been less utilized. In this study we use 3D dGEMRIM in patients with meniscus lesions and compare them with previous results of healthy individuals...

Purpose To compare the delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) indexes acquired with different gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs), with emphasis on the difference in electrical charge, and to evaluate the feasibility of the use of GBCAs other than gadopentetate dimeglumine with a double negative charge (Gd-DTPA(2-)) as alternatives at dGEMRIC. Materials and Methods Intact porcine patellae (n = 44) were divided into four groups according to GBCA used: Gd-DTPA(2-), double negative gadobenate dimeglumine (Gd-BOPTA(2-)), single negative gadoterate meglumine (Gd-DOTA(-)), and nonionic gadobutrol (Gd-DT-DO3A)...

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: On a molecular level, maturation or degeneration of human intervertebral disc is among others expressed by the content of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). According to the degenerative status, the disc content can differ in nucleus pulposus (NP) and annulus fibrosus (AF), respectively. Research in this area was conducted mostly on postmortem samples. Although several radiological classification systems exist, none includes biochemical features. Therefore, we focused our in vivo study on a widely spread and less expensive imaging technique for the cervical spine and the correlation of radiological patterns to biochemical equivalents in the intervertebral discs...

CONTEXT: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common, worldwide disorder. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging can directly and noninvasively evaluate articular cartilage and has emerged as an essential tool in the study of OA. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A PubMed search was performed using the keywords quantitative MRI and cartilage. No limits were set on the range of years searched. Articles were reviewed for relevance with an emphasis on in vivo studies performed at 3 tesla. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical review...