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Quantitative T 2 * relaxation time analysis of articular cartilage of the tibiotalar joint in professional football players and healthy volunteers at 3T MRI
Author(s) -
Behzadi Cyrus,
Maas KaiJonathan,
Welsch Goetz,
Kaul Michael,
Schoen Gerhard,
Laqmani Azien,
Adam Gerhard,
Regier Marc
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.25757
Subject(s) - football , medicine , cartilage , football players , magnetic resonance imaging , relaxation (psychology) , confidence interval , nuclear medicine , anatomy , radiology , political science , law
Purpose To compare T 2 * relaxation times of the tibiotalar cartilage between professional football players and matched healthy male volunteers. Materials and Methods Twenty‐two ankles of professional football players (24.3 ± 3.8 years) and 20 age‐ and body mass index‐matched healthy individuals (25.6 ± 2.4 years) were investigated. The study protocol consisted of multiplanar T 1 ‐weighted, fat‐saturated proton‐density weighted (Pdw) and a 3D multiecho T 2 * sequence with 22 echo times (4.6–53.6 msec). The articular cartilage was subdivided into six segments. Regions of interest were manually drawn in three zones (lateral, central, medial). Differences and confidence intervals were estimated applying a random effects models. Fixed effects were professional football players versus healthy individuals and areas. The random effect was defined as the person cluster of the different individuals. Results T 2 * values were significantly prolonged in football players compared to male volunteers in all predefined cartilage segments (mean, 17.5 vs. 15.5 msec; P < 0.001). In both groups, the highest relaxation times were found in the lateral zone, with statistically higher relaxation times in professional football players (18.5 vs. 16.5 msec, P = 0.003). Separate evaluation revealed the longest relaxation times in the posterior tibiotalar cartilage, with 21.0 msec for professional football players compared to 19.4 msec for healthy volunteers ( P = 0.064). Conclusion Based on these initial results, T 2 * values of the tibiotalar cartilage seem to be elevated in professional football players compared to healthy volunteers. Prospective longitudinal studies should be encouraged to show if these results represent early subtle cartilage lesions prior to clinical manifestation or rather temporary adaptation related to daily high‐level loading. Level of Evidence: 1 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:372–379.