6533b831fe1ef96bd1299a87

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Association between radiography-based subchondral bone structure and MRI-based cartilage composition in postmenopausal women with mild osteoarthritis

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Summary Objective Our aim was to investigate the relation between radiograph-based subchondral bone structure and cartilage composition assessed with delayed gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) and T 2 relaxation time. Design Ninety-three postmenopausal women (Kellgren–Lawrence grade 0: n  = 13, 1: n  = 26, 2: n  = 54) were included. Radiograph-based bone structure was assessed using entropy of the Laplacian-based image ( E Lap ) and local binary patterns ( E LBP ), homogeneity indices of the local angles (HI Angles,mean , HI Angles,Perp , HI Angles,Paral ), and horizontal (FD Hor ) and vertical fractal dimensions (FD Ver ). Mean dGEMRIC index and T 2 relaxation time of tibial cartilage were calculated to estimate cartilage composition. Results HI Angles,mean ( r s  = −0.22) and HI Angles,Paral ( r s  = −0.24) in medial subchondral bone were related ( P E Lap ( r s  = −0.23), FD Hor,0.34 mm ( r  = 0.21) and FD Ver,0.68 mm ( r  = 0.24) in medial subchondral bone were related ( P T 2 relaxation time values of the medial tibial cartilage. FD Hor at different scales in lateral subchondral bone were related ( P r  = 0.29–0.41) and T 2 values of lateral tibial cartilage ( r  = −0.28 to −0.36). FD Ver at larger scales were related ( P r  = 0.24–0.25) and T 2 values of lateral tibial cartilage ( r  = −0.21). HI Angles,Paral ( r  = −0.25) and FD Ver,0.68 mm ( r s  = 0.22) in the lateral tibial trabecular bone were related ( P Conclusion Our results support the presumption that several tissues are affected in the early osteoarthritis (OA). Furthermore, they indicate that the detailed analysis of radiographs may serve as a complementary imaging tool for OA studies.