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Objective: To test whether subchondral bone mineral density (sBMD) and cartilage thickness (CTh) of femoral condyles are correlated in knees without and with severe medial femorotibial osteoarthritis (OA), using a subregional analysis with computerized tomography (CT) arthrography., Methods: CT arthrograms of 50 non-OA (18 males, 58.7 (interquartile range (IQR) = 6.6 years)) and 50 severe medial OA (24 males, 60.5 (IQR = 10.7) years) knees, were retrospectively analyzed. Bone and cartilage were segmented using custom-designed software, leading to 3D models on which each point of the subchondral surface is given a CTh and sBMD value. The average sBMD and CTh were then calculated for the entire weight-bearing regions as well as specific subregions of interest. Linear bivariate and multivariable analyses were performed to test for relationships between sBMD and CTh (regional and subregional measures, or medial-to-lateral ratios), with confounders of age, gender, femoral bone size and femorotibial angle., Results: In non-OA knees, the sBMD and CTh medial-to-lateral ratios were positively correlated for the total region and the external and internal subregions (r >= 0.341, P, Conclusions: The positive correlation between sBMD and CTh in non-OA knees, and the negative one in OA knees, bring support to the theory of a subchondral bone/cartilage functional unit, which could help to better understand the pathophysiology of OA. (c) 2018 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Summary Objective To compare magnetic resonance (MR)-arthrography and multidetector-spiral-computed-tomography (MDSCT)-arthrography in cartilage-thickness measurement, in hips without cartilage loss, with coronal anatomic slices as gold standard. Method Institutional review board permission to study cadavers of individuals who willed their bodies to science was obtained. Two independent observers measured femoral and acetabular cartilage thicknesses of 12 radiographically normal hips (six women, five men; age range, 52–98 years; mean age, 76.5 years), on MDSCT-arthrographic and MR-arthrographic reformations, and on coronal anatomic slices, excluding regions of cartilage loss. Inter- and intraobserver reproducibilities were determined. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test differences between MR-arthrographic and MDSCT-arthrographic measurement errors compared to anatomy. Results By MR-arthrography, cartilage was not measurable at approximately 50% of points on sagittal and transverse sections, compared to 0–6% of the points by MDSCT-arthrography. In the coronal plane, the difference between MDSCT-arthrographic and MR-arthrographic measurement errors was not significant ( P =0.93). Conclusion In the coronal plane, MR-arthrography and MDSCT-arthrography were similarly accurate for measuring hip cartilage thickness.