Use of a 3-Telsa magnet to perform delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the distal interphalangeal joint of horses with and without naturally occurring osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE To characterize delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) features of healthy hyaline cartilage of the distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ) of horses, to determine whether dGEMRIC can be used to differentiate various stages of naturally occurring osteoarthritis of the DIPJ, and to correlate relaxation times determined by dGEMRIC with the glycosaminoglycan concentration, water content, and macroscopic and histologic findings of hyaline cartilage of DIPJs with and without osteoarthritis. SAMPLE 1 cadaveric forelimb DIPJ from each of 12 adult warmblood horses. PROCEDURES T1-weighted cartilage relaxation times were obtained for predetermined sites of the DIPJ before (T1) and after (T1) intra-articular gadolinium administration. Corresponding cartilage sites underwent macroscopic, histologic, and immunohistochemical evaluation, and cartilage glycosaminoglycan concentration and water content were determined. Median T1 and T1 were correlated with macroscopic, histologic, and biochemical data. Mixed generalized linear models were created to evaluate the effects of cartilage site, articular surface, and macroscopic and histologic scores on relaxation times. RESULTS 122 cartilage specimens were analyzed. Median T1 was lower than the median T1 for normal and diseased cartilage. Both T1 and T1 were correlated with macroscopic and histologic scores, whereby T1 increased and T1 decreased as osteoarthritis progressed. There was topographic variation of T1 and T1 within the DIPJ. Cartilage glycosaminoglycan concentration and water content were significantly correlated with T1 and macroscopic and histologic scores but were not correlated with T1. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated that dGEMRIC relaxation times varied for DIPJs with various degrees of osteoarthritis. These findings may help facilitate early detection of osteoarthritis.