Three-dimensional MRI shows cartilage defect extension with no separation from the meniscus in women in their 70 s with knee osteoarthritis

Abstract

The positional relationship between cartilage defects and the meniscus is poorly understood for osteoarthritis of the knee. Our purpose was to clarify how cartilage defects extend and their association with the meniscus location during osteoarthritis progression. The subjects were women in their 70 s who were registered in the Kanagawa Knee Study. We obtained 3D MRI images of the tibial surfaces with menisci in subjects with cartilage area ratios < 0.95 and examined the morphological association between cartilage defects and the medial meniscus (MM) by viewing the defects according to the cartilage area ratio at the medial tibial region. Of the 561 Kanagawa Knee Study subjects, 45 were included in the analyses, and 11 had a cartilage area ratio < 0.95 at the medial tibia. Significant differences were observed in the localization of cartilage defects among 9 subregions, with cartilage defects occurring predominantly in the middle external subregion. The inner margin of the MM contacted the cartilage defect in 7 knees and crossed the cartilage defect in 4 knees but was never found separated from the cartilage defect. The cartilage defects occurred from the middle external subregion and extended to the surrounding area without separating from the inner margin of the MM.Trial registration UMIN, UMIN000032826; 1 September 2018.

Anterior meniscus extrusion is associated with anterior tibial osteophyte width in knee osteoarthritis – The Bunkyo Health Study

“…However, medial meniscus disposition occurs not only medially (MME) but also anteriorly, and the anterior deviation of the meniscus is called as anterior meniscus extrusion (AME) [ 9 ]. In case of changes in position and/or morphology of the meniscus, mechanical force to the articular cartilage is inadequately dispersed and the overall biomechanics of the knee joint are altered, resulting in increased risk for cartilage loss and incidence and progression of knee OA [ 3 , 8 , [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] ]. Actually, MME is known to be an important risk factor for the incidence and progression of knee OA [ 14 , [17] , [18] , [19] ].…”

Controllable Damping Magnetorheological Elastomer Meniscus

“…6 Tissue engineering methods are emerging as an alternative to current surgical procedures. 5 At present, researchers have carried out a series of studies on the replacement materials of the meniscus from autologous tissue to artificial synthesis. 5,7 In the early 1990s, Stone et al 8 began to study the natural collagen matrix as the template of the meniscus prosthesis and, through the simulation and experimental analysis of meniscus material, verified the possibility of using the collagen matrix as an absorbable alternative material for meniscus.…”

“…Therefore, it is critical to identify methods that can stop or slow the progression of arthritis; however, currently it is limited to using the tissues to regenerate the joint meniscus and only provide short-term relief of symptoms . Tissue engineering methods are emerging as an alternative to current surgical procedures …”

“…5 At present, researchers have carried out a series of studies on the replacement materials of the meniscus from autologous tissue to artificial synthesis. 5,7 In the early 1990s, Stone et al 8 began to study the natural collagen matrix as the template of the meniscus prosthesis and, through the simulation and experimental analysis of meniscus material, verified the possibility of using the collagen matrix as an absorbable alternative material for meniscus. Yan et al 9 studied the mechanical properties of silk fibroin meniscal scaffolds by changing the initial silk fibroin concentration and found that the scaffolds developed by silk fibroin could be used in the meniscus and cartilage tissue engineering scaffolds.…”

“…Pujol et al performed a retrospective clinical examination and imaging evaluation using 1.5-T MRI after total arthroscopic meniscus repair and concluded that the damage to the meniscus could lead to disturbances in load transfer to the knee joint. Katano et al analyzed 3D MRI images of the tibial surface with the meniscus in subjects consisting of women in their 70, and found that damage to the articular cartilage and meniscus can lead to cartilage degeneration, eventually leading to arthritis. Therefore, it is critical to identify methods that can stop or slow the progression of arthritis; however, currently it is limited to using the tissues to regenerate the joint meniscus and only provide short-term relief of symptoms .…”