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. 2023 Jan;9(1):e002565.
doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2022-002565.

Quantitative infrapatellar fat pad signal intensity alteration as an imaging biomarker of knee osteoarthritis progression

Han Cen #  1   2 , Qingran Yan #  3 , Tao Meng  4 , Zhongshan Chen  2   5 , Jimin Zhu  2   6 , Yuanyuan Wang  2   7 , Guangfeng Ruan  2   8 , Tian Wang  2   9 , Weiyu Han  1 , David Hunter  1   10 , Changhai Ding  11   2
Affiliations

Quantitative infrapatellar fat pad signal intensity alteration as an imaging biomarker of knee osteoarthritis progression

Han Cen et al. RMD Open. 2023 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the association of quantitative infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) signal intensity alteration with knee osteoarthritis (OA) progression.

Method: This study was performed based on the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health OA Biomarkers Consortium study, a nested case-control study consisting of 600 participants. The IPFP signal intensity alterations were quantitatively measured at baseline, 12 months and 24 months. The associations of baseline and time-integrated values over 12 and 24 months of IPFP signal intensity measures with knee OA progression over 48 months were evaluated with adjustment for baseline confounders.

Results: The baseline level of clustering effect of high signal intensity (Clustering factor (H)) was predictive of clinically relevant progression (both radiographic and pain progression) (OR 1.22). The time-integrated values of all IPFP signal intensity measures, except for mean value of IPFP signal intensity (Mean (IPFP)) over 24 months (ORs ranging from 1.23 to 1.39) as well was all except for Mean (IPFP) and mean value of IPFP high signal intensity (Mean (H)) over 12 months (ORs ranging from 1.20 to 1.31), were positively associated with clinically relevant progression. When the associations of quantitative IPFP signal intensity measures with radiographic and pain progression were examined separately, more IPFP signal intensity measures with stronger effect sizes were associated with radiographic progression compared with pain progression.

Conclusion: The associations of short-term alteration in quantitative IPFP signal intensity measures with long-term knee OA progression suggest that these measures might serve as efficacy of intervention biomarkers of knee OA.

Keywords: epidemiology; magnetic resonance imaging; osteoarthritis, knee.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: DH provides consulting advice on scientific advisory boards for Pfizer, Lilly, TLCBio, Novartis, Tissuegene, Biobone. All other authors declare no other competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Segmentation and signal intensity calculation of the whole infrapatellar fat pad and high signal intensity regions on sagittal planes of fat-saturated T2-weighted images using MATLAB.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Primary analysis based on baseline, 12-month and 24-month integrated value of infrapatellar fat pad signal intensity measure Z scores.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Secondary analysis based on baseline, 12-month and 24-month integrated value of infrapatellar fat pad signal intensity measures Z scores (method 1).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Secondary analysis based on baseline, 12-month and 24-month integrated value of infrapatellar fat pad signal intensity measures Z scores (method 2–4).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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