2008 Faculty Researchers

James Cook. DVM. PhD

Correlating Biochemical, Histologic, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Measures for Early Diagnosis of Osteoarthritis in the Pond-Nuki Model in Dogs

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Department

Orthopaedic Surgery. Comparative Orthopaedic Laboratory

Office Location

379 East Campus Drive

Phone #:

Office: (573) 884-0603
Fax: (573) 884-2683

Summary

Articular cartilage degradation is the hallmark of osteoarthritis (OA). Articular cartilage degradation in OA can be accurately assessed; however, this cannot be done currently in a noninvasive, clinically-relevant manner. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is readily available, noninvasive, and shows promise for assessing early articular cartilage degradation. If MRI can be used to consistently and accurately predict the extent and severity of cartilage degradation in the early, potentially reversible stages of disease, preventative and therapeutic strategies for OA would be greatly enhanced. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to assess the ability of MRI to accurately assess early articular cartilage degradation as assessed by "gold standard" histologic and biochemical measures. We hypothesized that

1. articular cartilage degradation in OA can be assessed by MRI prior to gross and clinical evidence of pathology; and
2. MRI will correspond to biochemical and histologic changes associated with early OA.