Abstract #1676

Knight D, Hutchison J, Aspden R, Ahearn T, Redpath T, Semple S

Osteoarthritis has traditionally been thought of as a disease that erodes cartilage, however it has been proposed that osteoarthritis may be a systemic disorder with numerous precursors. One such precursor may be an altered lipid metabolism. In this abstract we have used the Dixon 2 point technique to measure lipid content in the proximal femur and adjacent muscle in 16 patients and 11 healthy volunteers. A significant difference in muscle lipid content was found. The bone lipid differences were insignificant. Further work is required to clarify these results using an age matched group.