Osteoarthritis and Cartilage
Volume 18, Issue 3 , Pages 358-364, March 2010

Functional cartilage MRI T2 mapping: evaluating the effect of age and training on knee cartilage response to running

  • T.J. Mosher

      Affiliations

    • Penn State Center for NMR Research, Department of Radiology, The Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA 17033, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence and reprint requests to: T. J. Mosher, Department of Radiology, MC H066, The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, 500 University Drive, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. Tel: 1-717-531-4566; Fax: 1-717-531-8486.
    • ,
  • Y. Liu

      Affiliations

    • Department of Medicine, Roseville Sacramento Medical Center, 1001 Riverside Avenue, Roseville CA 95678, USA
    • ,
  • C.M. Torok

      Affiliations

    • The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, 600 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA

Received 24 July 2009; accepted 18 November 2009. published online 03 December 2009.

Summary 

Objective

To characterize effects of age and physical activity level on cartilage thickness and T2 response immediately after running.

Design

Institutional review board approval was obtained and all subjects provided informed consent prior to study participation. Cartilage thickness and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T2 values of 22 marathon runners and 15 sedentary controls were compared before and after 30min of running. Runner and control groups were stratified by age≤45 and ≥46 years. Multi-echo [(Time to Repetition (TR)/Time to Echo (TE) 1500ms/9–109ms)] MR images obtained using a 3.0T scanner were used to calculate thickness and T2 values from the central femoral and tibial cartilage. Baseline cartilage T2 values, and change in cartilage thickness and T2 values after running were compared between the four groups using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Results

After running MRI T2 values decreased in superficial femoral (2ms–4ms) and tibial (1ms–3ms) cartilage along with a decrease in cartilage thickness: (femoral: 4%–8%, tibial: 0%–12%). Smaller decrease in cartilage T2 values were observed in the middle zone of cartilage, and no change was observed in the deepest layer. There was no difference cartilage deformation or T2 response to running as a function of age or level of physical activity.

Conclusions

Running results in a measurable decrease in cartilage thickness and MRI T2 values of superficial cartilage consistent with greater compressibility of the superficial cartilage layer. Age and level of physical activity did not alter the T2 response to running.

Key words: Cartilage, Osteoarthritis, Magnetic resonance imaging, Exercise, Knee

 

PII: S1063-4584(09)00306-9

doi:10.1016/j.joca.2009.11.011

Osteoarthritis and Cartilage
Volume 18, Issue 3 , Pages 358-364, March 2010