Assessment of the Radial Distribution of Glycosaminoglycans (GAG) in Arthritic Hips Using Delayed Gadolinium Enhanced MRI of Cartilage (DGEMRIC)

Jenny Chan¹, Samir Sur¹, Inge Kress¹, Tallal Charles Mamisch², Young-Jo Kim¹

The radial distribution of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) in 35 arthritic hips was assessed using a three-dimensional isotropic fast T1 mapping sequence for dGEMRIC. Hips with mild osteoarthritis had the highest GAG concentration in the superior regions of the joint cartilage, while those with severe OA displayed an inverse pattern. The study also shows that thin slice dGEMRIC sequencing produced similar results to the previously validated fast T1 mapping using thick coronal slices. We conclude that the 3D dGEMRIC is a powerful diagnostic tool that can be used in vivo to characterize the patterns of cartilage damage in early OA.