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Cited by 81Knee injuries and reconstruction techniquesOsteoarthritis Treatment and MechanismsLower Extremity Biomechanics and Pathologies

Prevalence of abnormal findings in 230 knees of asymptomatic adults using 3.0 T MRI

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Horga, Laura M., Hirschmann, Anna C., Henckel, Johann, Fotiadou, Anastasia, Di Laura, Anna, Torlasco, Camilla, D’Silva, Andrew, Sharma, Sanjay +2 more·2020·Skeletal Radiology
DOI 10.1007/s00256-020-03394-zPMC PMC7237395
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Abstract

Objective: To identify abnormalities in asymptomatic sedentary individuals using 3.0 Tesla high-resolution MRI. Materials and methods: The cohort comprised of 230 knees of 115 uninjured sedentary adults (51 males, 64 females; median age: 44 years). All participants had bilateral knee 3.0 T MRIs. Two senior musculoskeletal radiologists graded all intraarticular knee structures using validated scoring systems. Participants completed Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score questionnaires at the time of the MRI scan. Results: MRI showed abnormalities in the majority (97%) of knees. Thirty percent knees had meniscal tears: horizontal (23%), complex (3%), vertical (2%), radial (2%) and bucket handle (1%). Cartilage and bone marrow abnormalities were prevalent at the patellofemoral joint (57% knees and 48% knees, respectively). Moderate and severe cartilage lesions were common, in 19% and 31% knees, respectively, while moderate and severe bone marrow oedema in 19% and 31% knees, respectively. Moderate-intensity lesion in tendons was found in 21% knees and high-grade tendonitis in 6% knees—the patellar (11% and 2%, respectively) and quadriceps (7% and 2%, respectively) tendons being most affected. Three percent partial ligamentous ruptures were found, especially of the anterior cruciate ligament (2%). Conclusion: Nearly all knees of asymptomatic adults showed abnormalities in at least one knee structure on MRI. Meniscal tears, cartilage and bone marrow lesions of the patellofemoral joint were the most common pathological findings. Bucket handle and complex meniscal tears were reported for the first time in asymptomatic knees.

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  • Reproducibility of T2 mapping depends on standardizing acquisition parameters, fitting algorithms, and magnetic field strength.

    “reproducibility depends on standardizing acquisition parameters, fitting algorithms, and magnetic field strength [63,64,65].”

    From Biomarker-Guided Imaging and AI-Augmented Diagnosis of Degenerative Joint Disease (2025) · cites this paper as [64]

    The Introduction discusses how MRI field strength and sequences can affect diagnostic accuracy, and the Methods > MRI protocol specifies the study’s 3 T acquisition. Neither section addresses T2-mapping reproducibility or the need to standardize fitting algorithms. Searches for those terms and acquisition-parameter standardization found no passage supporting the attributed claim. (LLM, conf=0.74)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Correlations between imaging and biochemical markers such as CTX-II, COMP, and IL-1β confirm the potential of a multimodal assessment paradigm.

    “While correlations with biochemical markers (e.g., CTX-II, COMP, IL-1β) confirm the potential of a multimodal assessment paradigm”

    From Biomarker-Guided Imaging and AI-Augmented Diagnosis of Degenerative Joint Disease (2025) · cites this paper as [64]

    The Methods (Imaging analysis; page unavailable) describe MRI scoring, and the Results (Associations between lesions; page unavailable) report an association between two MRI findings. Searches for CTX-II, COMP, IL-1β and biochemical markers found no passage addressing correlations between imaging and biochemical markers or a multimodal assessment paradigm. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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Cited by

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Authors
Horga, L. M., Hirschmann, A. C., Henckel, J., Fotiadou, A., Di Laura, A., Torlasco, C., D’Silva, A., Sharma, S., Moon, J. C., & Hart, A. J.
Affiliations
  • Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (GB)
  • University Hospital of Basel (CH)
  • University College London (GB)
  • St George's, University of London (GB)
Corresponding author
Horga, Laura M.
ORCID
Venue
Skeletal Radiology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2020-02-14
Volume
49
Issue
7
Pages
1099-1107
ISSN
  • 0364-2348 (ISSN-L)
  • 1432-2161
DOI
10.1007/s00256-020-03394-z
PMC
PMC7237395
OpenAlex
W3005820552
Cited by
81
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 3
FWCI
9.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Skeletal Radiology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • St George's Online Research Archive (St George's University of London) (acceptedVersion)
  • BOA (University of Milano-Bicocca) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
patient donations (patient donations)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Knee injuries and reconstruction techniques
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Rheumatology › Osteoarthritis Treatment and Mechanisms
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Lower Extremity Biomechanics and Pathologies
Keywords
meniscal tears, bucket handle tear, patellofemoral joint, cartilage damage, bone marrow edema, patellar tendinopathy, quadriceps tendon, anterior cruciate ligament rupture, sedentary adults
MeSH terms
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries, Adult, Bone Marrow Diseases, Cartilage Diseases, Female, Humans, Knee Injuries, Knee Joint, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Prevalence, Osteoarthritis, Knee, Tendinopathy, Sedentary Behavior, Asymptomatic Diseases

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