Supplemental educational program to heighten the impact of research - an opportunity for OA imaging.

Objective: To develop and evaluate a supplementary educational program ("IMPACT") centered on enabling participants to consider specifically and articulate explicitly the best path for and potential impact of their research.

Design: Participants (trainees) and faculty mentors were from all areas of biomedical research. The group worked longitudinally in small, rotating groups, through a process of developing a written statement ("Impact Statement"), an overview ("Impact Storyline") and an oral presentation ("Impact Case") of their work.

Unexplained Acute Distal Pancreatitis: Association With Subsequent Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer.

Distal pancreatitis is an atypical imaging subtype of acute pancreatitis involving only the pancreatic body and tail, the head being spared. If no cause is identified, suspicion of a small imaging-occult cancer may be warranted. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of subsequently diagnosed pancreatic cancer in patients with unexplained acute distal pancreatitis and to compare this frequency to that found in patients with unexplained nondistal pancreatitis.

Evidence for Left Atrial Volume Being an Indicator of Adverse Events in Patients With Acute Pulmonary Embolism: Retrospective Case-control Pilot Study.

Purpose: To assess the association between computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) atrial measurements and both 30-day pulmonary embolism (PE)-related adverse events and mortality, and non-PE-related mortality, and to identify the best predictors of these outcomes by comparing atrial measurements and widely used clinical and imaging variables.

Patients And Methods: Retrospective single-center pilot study. Acute PE patients diagnosed on CTPA who also had a transthoracic echocardiogram, electrocardiogram, and troponin T were included.

A Tissue-Penetrating Double Network Restores the Mechanical Properties of Degenerated Articular Cartilage.

Incorporation of an interpenetrating polymer network into an existing single polymer network enables augmentation of the original substrate's mechanical properties, and translation of this concept from purely synthetic materials to natural-synthetic hybrid systems provides the opportunity to reinforce mechanical properties of bulk biological substrates. In many disease states, the mechanical properties of bodily tissues deteriorate rendering them prone to further material failure. Herein, a tissue-supplementing technique is described in which an interpenetrating biomimetic hydrogel is polymerized in situ throughout cartilage tissue.

MR diffusion is sensitive to mechanical loading in human intervertebral disks ex vivo.

Purpose: To use T2 and diffusion MR to determine the change in the mechanical function of human disks with increased degenerative state.

Materials And Methods: Spatial changes in T2 and diffusion were quantified in five cadaveric human lumbar disks under compressive loads. Regression models were used to investigate the relationship between the change in MR parameters and the disk's dynamic and viscoelastic properties.

Delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of medial tibiofemoral cartilage and its relationship with meniscal pathology: a longitudinal study using 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between medial meniscal pathology and cartilage matrix status using delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) in medial tibiofemoral cartilage in a sample of middle-aged women.

Methods: A total of 148 women ages ≥40 years were included, and 3.0T MRI of the knee was performed at baseline and at 1 year.

Association of changes in delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) with changes in cartilage thickness in the medial tibiofemoral compartment of the knee: a 2 year follow-up study using 3.0 T MRI.

Objective: To determine the association between changes in the delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) index over 2 years as a measure of cartilage proteoglycan concentration, with changes in cartilage thickness in the medial tibiofemoral compartment of knees in middle-aged women.

Methods: One hundred and forty-eight women (one knee for each subject) aged ≥40 years were included. 3.

Why radiography should no longer be considered a surrogate outcome measure for longitudinal assessment of cartilage in knee osteoarthritis.

Imaging of cartilage has traditionally been achieved indirectly with conventional radiography. Loss of joint space width, or 'joint space narrowing', is considered a surrogate marker for cartilage thinning. However, radiography is severely limited by its inability to visualize cartilage, the difficulty of ascertaining the optimum and reproducible positioning of the joint in serial assessments, and the difficulty of grading joint space narrowing visually.

PGC-1α promotes recovery after acute kidney injury during systemic inflammation in mice.

Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and morbid condition that is distinguishable from typical ischemic renal injury by its paucity of tubular cell death. The mechanisms underlying renal dysfunction in individuals with sepsis-associated AKI are therefore less clear. Here we have shown that endotoxemia reduces oxygen delivery to the kidney, without changing tissue oxygen levels, suggesting reduced oxygen consumption by the kidney cells.

A randomized, double-blind study of AMG 108 (a fully human monoclonal antibody to IL-1R1) in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.

Introduction: AMG 108 is a fully human, immunoglobulin subclass G2 (IgG2) monoclonal antibody that binds the human interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor type 1, inhibiting the activity of IL-1a and IL-1b. In preclinical studies, IL-1 inhibition was shown to be beneficial in models of osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this two-part study was to evaluate the safety and pharmacokinetics (PK; Part A) and clinical effect (Part B) of AMG 108 in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose study in patients with OA of the knee.

Articular cartilage in the knee: current MR imaging techniques and applications in clinical practice and research.

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is the most important imaging modality for the evaluation of traumatic or degenerative cartilaginous lesions in the knee. It is a powerful noninvasive tool for detecting such lesions and monitoring the effects of pharmacologic and surgical therapy. The specific MR imaging techniques used for these purposes can be divided into two broad categories according to their usefulness for morphologic or compositional evaluation.

Delayed contrast-enhanced MRI of cartilage: comparison of nonionic and ionic contrast agents.

The objective of this study was to evaluate if cartilage fixed charge density is the only factor determining the distribution of the measured delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage index, T(1) (Gd-DTPA(2-) ), across cartilage in the clinical delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage protocol. Nineteen subjects with osteoarthritis and 14 controls were included. Cartilage T(1) (Gd) was measured following administration of 0.

Measures of molecular composition and structure in osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis involves ongoing degradative and healing processes that occur at the molecular level in multiple tissues in the joint in response to a number of biochemical and mechanical factors. Understanding these dynamic processes before they affect the structural aspects of the joint motivates the need for metrics to better visualize the compositional and structural molecular aspects of the tissues in vivo. As reviewed here, most of the work to date in this regard has been focused on magnetic resonance imaging approaches for interrogating molecular features of cartilage, including T2 mapping, T1rho mapping, delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC), and sodium imaging.

Radiographic and patient factors associated with pre-radiographic osteoarthritis in hip dysplasia.

Background: Hip dysplasia leads to abnormal loading of articular cartilage, which results in osteoarthritis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anatomic and demographic factors associated with the early onset of osteoarthritis in dysplastic hips by utilizing the delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) index as a marker of the disease.

Methods: Ninety-six symptomatic dysplastic hips in seventy-four patients were assessed with standard radiographs and a dGEMRIC scan.

Tracking longitudinal changes in knee degeneration and repair.

The ability to track longitudinal changes in knee degeneration and repair is critical to understanding the natural history of joint disease as well as the impact of therapeutics and lifestyle interventions. Traditionally, longitudinal changes in the knee have been monitored with radiography, which focuses on relatively late disease progression. The ability of magnetic resonance imaging to monitor tissue composition may enable monitoring of early degeneration as well as repair.

Osteoarthritis: current role of imaging.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent joint disease; it is increasingly common in the aging population of Western society and has a major health economic impact. Despite surgery and symptom-oriented approaches there is no efficient treatment. Conventional radiography has played a role in the past in confirming diagnosis and demonstrating late bony changes and joint space narrowing.

The effect of paraformaldehyde fixation on the delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) measurement.

The delayed Gadolinium-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Cartilage (dGEMRIC) method allows for both qualitative and quantitative measurement of the spatial distribution of glycosaminoglycan [GAG] in excised cartilage. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of paraformaldehyde fixation on dGEMRIC measurements. Five bovine and seven human cartilage pieces were punched into 5-mm plugs, fixed for 18 h in 4% paraformaldehyde solution, and washed.

Comparison of delayed gadolinium enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) using inversion recovery and fast T1 mapping sequences.

The delayed Gadolinium Enhanced MRI of Cartilage (dGEMRIC) technique has shown promising results in pilot clinical studies of early osteoarthritis. Currently, its broader acceptance is limited by the long scan time and the need for postprocessing to calculate the T1 maps. A fast T1 mapping imaging technique based on two spoiled gradient echo images was implemented.

Imaging in osteoarthritis.

Conventional radiography is still the first and most important imaging examination in a clinical setting when evaluating a patient with a known or suspected diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA). In research and clinical trials, it still is a valuable tool for stratifying patients who have OA into different categories for inclusion criteria and eligibility. MRI has become crucial in understanding the natural history of the disease and in guiding future therapies because of its ability to image the knee as a whole organ and to assess cartilage morphology and composition directly and in a three-dimensional manner.

Suitability of T(1Gd) as the dGEMRIC index at 1.5T and 3.0T.

Delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) is based on the theory that Gd-DTPA(2-) will distribute in inverse relation to cartilage glycosaminoglycan (GAG). T(1Gd) (T(1) after penetration of a 0.2 mmol/kg dose of Gd-DTPA(2-)) has been used as the dGEMRIC index, although (1/T(1Gd)-1/T(1o)) should be more representative of Gd-DTPA(2-) concentration (where T(1o) = T(1) before contrast).

2007 Elizabeth Winston Lanier Award Winner. Magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage glycosaminoglycan: basic principles, imaging technique, and clinical applications.

Many new therapeutic strategies have been and are being developed to prevent, correct, or slow the progression of osteoarthritis. Our ability to evaluate the efficacy of these techniques, or to determine the situations for which they might provide the most benefit, critically depends on diagnostic measures that can serve as proxies for the present or predicted state of the cartilage. We focus here on a body of work surrounding the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to noninvasively image the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) concentration of articular cartilage.

Delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the meniscus: an index of meniscal tissue degeneration?

Objective: Much attention has been focused recently on the need for a better understanding of the mechanisms and natural progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA), particularly in its early stages. One technique that has been used to investigate early OA is delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC), where T1(Gd) (T1 value after penetration of the MRI contrast agent gadopentate dimeglumine [Gd-DTPA(2-)]) is used as an index of the molecular status of articular cartilage. The goal of this study was to explore T1(Gd) in the meniscus and its relationship with articular cartilage T1(Gd) in knee dGEMRIC image data sets.