Francesco Palmieri MD, Presenter: Nothing to Disclose

Maria Alessio, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Iwan Van Breuseghem MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Alfonso Ragozzino, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Victor N. Cassar-Pullicino, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Stefania Tamburrini, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

To compare the knee cartilage of healthy children with the cartilage of patients affected with chronic juvenile arthritis (CJA) by using magnetization tranfer (MT) imaging .

Forty children and adolescents (20 healthy volunteers and 20 CJA patients with age range 8-17 years; mean age: 12.8 years; 19 female and 21 male) underwent an Ultrafast 3D Gradient Echo sequence before and after a magnetization transfer pulse of 250 kHz. The MT ratio has been calculated for the patellar, distal femoral weight- and non-weight-bearing unossified epiphyseal cartilage and tibial articular cartilage. The unpaired Student’s t-test was used to test for significant differences between the cartilage of both groups.

(displayed as mean ± standard deviation). The MT ratio of patellar and tibial cartilage of healthy volunteers was significantly different from that of the patients with CJA: CJA / healthy patellar cartilage MTR: 0.40 ± 0.04 / 0.31± 0.06 (p<0.05); CJA/ healthy tibial cartilage MTR: 0.31 ± 0.03 / 0.39 ± 0.11 (p<0.05); MTR of femoral weight- and non-weight-bearing cartilage was not significantly different in both groups: CJA / healthy femoral weight-bearing cartilage 0.36 ± 0.04 / 0.36 ± 0.09 (p=0.52); CJA / healthy femoral non-weight-bearing cartilage 0.34 ± 0.04 / 0.37 ± 0.1(p=0.84)

The MT ratio of patellar and tibial cartilage of healthy volunteers is significantly different from the MT ratio in patients with CJA.

The MT imaging can be used to detect cartilage abnormalities in patients affected by cja.

Palmieri, F, Alessio, M, Van Breuseghem, I, Ragozzino, A, Cassar-Pullicino, V, Tamburrini, S, Magnetization Transfer Imaging of Cartilage in Chronic Juvenile Arthritis.  Radiological Society of North America 2006 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, November 26 - December 1, 2006 ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2006/4439307.html