FRIDAY, Aug. 12 (HealthDay News) -- In women, knees with osteoarthritis (OA) have wider femoral and tibial bone, extend more during radiography, and have an elevated lateral tibial plateau, according to a study published online Aug. 2 in Arthritis & Rheumatism.
D.J. Haverkamp, from the Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues investigated the role of joint shape in knee OA. The knee shape on radiographs of knees with OA were compared with knee shape of controls in 609 females (1,218 knees) using a statistical shape model. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to compare the shapes of knees with cartilage defects to those without defects.
The investigators identified three statistical shape modes (mode two, four, and 15), referring to three distinct aspects of knee shape, which significantly correlated with the presence of radiologic OA. The width of the femoral and tibial bones, expressed by mode two, was larger in patients with OA. Wider femoral and tibial bones were observed in knees with cartilage defects compared to those without defects. Variations in knee flexion during radiography were reflected in mode four. Compared to controls, OA knees were more extended. In patients with OA, elevated lateral tibial plateau, associated with pain, was observed in mode 15.
"In women, knees with osteoarthritis were wider, more extended during radiography and had an elevated lateral tibial plateau. These results show that the shape of the knee is involved in osteoarthritis, which might lead to novel imaging biomarkers to monitor or predict knee OA," the authors write.
Abstract
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