Exploratory Investigation on Bone-Muscle-Cartilage Relationships in Knee Osteoarthritis

Motivation: Osteoarthritis is a multifaceted disease and while the relationships between bone and cartilage have been well researched, inclusion of muscle in this relationship is less researched. Goal(s): The goal is to determine if high muscle fat fraction and lower muscle volume will correlate with increased subchondral bone remodeling and cartilage loss and matrix changes. Approach: 12 women (6 w/OA) underwent two bilateral [18F]NaF PET/MRI knee scans before and after exercise from which muscle, bone, and cartilage were segmented and analyzed. Results: Results show correlations between muscle, bone, and cartilage variables for some muscle-bone/cartilage regions. Impact: More studies analyzing the muscle-bone-cartilage relationships can further expand on this theory and help in understanding the whole joint nature of OA.