Strong association of MRI meniscal derangement and bone marrow lesions in knee osteoarthritis: data from the osteoarthritis initiative

Introduction: Meniscal damage is common in knee Osteoarthritis (CA) and predictive of structural progression, suggesting that their disruption plays a role in the development of OA. The bone marrow lesion (BML) is associated with pain and is a strong risk factor for structural progression. These lesions are associated with abnormal loading in a knee joint. Therefore, our hypothesis was that in those with symptomatic knee CA, large BMLs would be associated with ipsi-compartmental meniscal derangement. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of a subsample of the Osteoarthritis Initiative where one set of magnetic resonance (MR) images from each participant was scored for tibiofemoral BMLs and meniscal derangement. We performed chi-squared tests comparing the prevalence of large BMLs in those with ipsi-compartmental meniscal derangement and those without. Results: 160 Participants had a mean age of 61 (+/- 9.9), mean BMI of 30.3 (+/- 4.7) and 50% were female. 79% of medial and 39% of lateral menisci showed MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) derangement. In those with medial meniscal MRI derangement, 44% had large medial BMLs while in those without medial meniscal derangement, 0% had large BMLs. Similar results were seen in the lateral compartment. Conclusion: Medial and lateral MRI meniscal derangement are highly prevalent in symptomatic knee CA and BMLs are highly associated with ipsi-compartmental MRI meniscal derangement. (C) 2008 Cisteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.