Association of changes in delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) with changes in cartilage thickness in the medial tibiofemoral compartment of the knee: a 2 year follow-up study using 3.0 T MRI

摘要

Delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) can assess the composition of the cartilage matrix before morphological surface changes appear.It was specifically created to assess the gly-cosaminoglycan (GAG) concentration of the cartilage matrix.Ions within the interstitial fluid of cartilage are distributed in relation to the concentration of negatively charged GAG molecules (proteoglycan content). Gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA), the contrast agent used in dGEMRIC, distributes in areas within the cartilage where the negatively charged GAG content is low. Since the concentration of Gd-DTPA2~ can be approximated by measuring Tl, Tl assessment of cartilage after intravenous administration of Gd-DTPA2~ allows evaluation of the GAG concentration of cartilage. The dGEMRIC measurements have been validated in clinical studies, corresponding to reference standard measurements for GAG histology and biochemistry.dGEMRIC has been shown to demonstrate variations in morphologically intact cartilage and may have a bearing on the development of knee osteoarthritis (OA).