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Abstract #0230

Quantitative Mri Reveals Early Cartilage Degeneration in Acl-Injured Knees

Xiaojuan Li1, Daniel Kuo, Keerthi Shet, Christoph Stehling, Jonathan Cheng, Thomas Link, Benjamin Ma, Sharmila Majumdar

1Radiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States


Patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries have a high risk of developing post-traumatic osteoarthritis. The goals of this study were: 1) to longitudinally evaluate cartilage matrix changes using T1ρ and T2 quantification; 2) to study the relationship between meniscal damage and cartilage degeneration. 12 patients with acute ACL-injures and 10 healthy controls were studied. Significantly elevated T1rho were observed at 1-year follow up. T1rho were more sensitive than T2 in detecting early changes in cartilage matrix in ACL-injured knees. Lesions in posterior horn of medial meniscus were correlated with accelerated cartilage degeneration in medial femoral condyle.