The effect of prednisolone and a short-term prednisolone discontinuation for the diagnostic accuracy of FDG-PET/CT in polymyalgia rheumatica-a prospective study of 101 patients.

PURPOSE: 2-[18F]Fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) has been suggested as an imaging modality to diagnose polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). However, the applicability of FDG-PET/CT remains unclear, especially following glucocorticoid administration. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of FDG-PET/CT before and during prednisolone treatment, as well as following short-term prednisolone discontinuation. METHODS: Treatment naïve suspected PMR patients were clinically diagnosed at baseline and subsequently had an FDG-PET/CT performed. Patients diagnosed with PMR were administered prednisolone following the first FDG-PET/CT and had a second FDG-PET/CT performed after 8 weeks of treatment. Subsequently, prednisolone was tapered with short-term discontinuation at week 9 followed by a third FDG-PET/CT at week 10. An FDG-PET/CT classification of PMR/non-PMR was applied, utilizing both the validated Leuven score and a dichotomous PMR score. The final diagnosis was based on clinical follow-up after 1 year. RESULTS: A total of 68 and 27 patients received a final clinical diagnosis of PMR or non-PMR. A baseline FDG-PET/CT classified the patients as having PMR with a sensitivity/specificity of 86%/63% (Leuven score) and 82%/70% (dichotomous score). Comparing the subgroup of non-PMR with inflammatory diseases to the PMR group demonstrated a specificity of 39%/54% (Leuven/dichotomous score). After 8 weeks of prednisolone treatment, the sensitivity of FDG-PET/CT decreased to 36%/41% (Leuven/dichotomous score), while a short-term prednisolone discontinuation increased the sensitivity to 66%/60%. CONCLUSION: FDG-PET/CT has limited diagnostic accuracy for differentiating PMR from other inflammatory diseases. If FDG-PET/CT is intended for diagnostic purposes, prednisolone should be discontinued to enhance diagnostic accuracy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04519580). Registered 17th of August 2020.

No effect of snow on shrub xylem traits: Insights from a snow-manipulation experiment on Disko Island, Greenland.

Widespread shrubification across the Arctic has been generally attributed to increasing air temperatures, but responses vary across species and sites. Wood structures related to the plant hydraulic architecture may respond to local environmental conditions and potentially impact shrub growth, but these relationships remain understudied. Using methods of dendroanatomy, we analysed shrub ring width (RW) and xylem anatomical traits of 80 individuals of Salix glauca L. and Betula nana L. at a snow manipulation experiment in Western Greenland. We assessed how their responses differed between treatments (increased versus ambient snow depth) and soil moisture regimes (wet and dry). Despite an increase in snow depth due to snow fences (28-39 %), neither RW nor anatomical traits in either species showed significant responses to this increase. In contrast, irrespective of the snow treatment, the xylem specific hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and earlywood vessel size (LA95) for the study period were larger in S. glauca (p < 0.1, p < 0.01) and B. nana (p < 0.01, p < 0.001) at the wet than the dry site, while both species had larger vessel groups at the dry than the wet site (p < 0.01). RW of B. nana was higher at the wet site (p < 0.01), but no differences were observed for S. glauca. Additionally, B. nana Ks and LA95 showed different trends over the study period, with decreases observed at the dry site (p < 0.001), while for other responses no difference was observed. Our results indicate that, taking into account ontogenetic and allometric trends, hydraulic related xylem traits of both species, along with B. nana growth, were influenced by soil moisture. These findings suggest that soil moisture regime, but not snow cover, may determine xylem responses to future climate change and thus add to the heterogeneity of Arctic shrub dynamics, though more long-term species- and site- specific studies are needed.

Long-term changes in the daytime growing season carbon dioxide exchange following increased temperature and snow cover in arctic tundra.

Increasing temperatures and winter precipitation can influence the carbon (C) exchange rates in arctic ecosystems. Feedbacks can be both positive and negative, but the net effects are unclear and expected to vary strongly across the Arctic. There is a lack of understanding of the combined effects of increased summer warming and winter precipitation on the C balance in these ecosystems. Here we assess the short-term (1-3 years) and long-term (5-8 years) effects of increased snow depth (snow fences) (on average + 70 cm) and warming (open top chambers; 1-3°C increase) and the combination in a factorial design on all key components of the daytime carbon dioxide (CO2 ) fluxes in a wide-spread heath tundra ecosystem in West Greenland. The warming treatment increased ecosystem respiration (ER) on a short- and long-term basis, while gross ecosystem photosynthesis (GEP) was only increased in the long term. Despite the difference in the timing of responses of ER and GEP to the warming treatment, the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 was unaffected in the short term and in the long term. Although the structural equation model (SEM) indicates a direct relationship between seasonal accumulated snow depth and ER and GEP, there were no significant effects of the snow addition treatment on ER or GEP measured over the summer period. The combination of warming and snow addition turned the plots into net daytime CO2 sources during the growing season. Interestingly, despite no significant changes in air temperature during the snow-free time during the experiment, control plots as well as warming plots revealed significantly higher ER and GEP in the long term compared to the short term. This was in line with the satellite-derived time-integrated normalized difference vegetation index of the study area, suggesting that more factors than air temperature are drivers for changes in arctic tundra ecosystems.

Drivers of contemporary and future changes in Arctic seasonal transition dates for a tundra site in coastal Greenland.

Climate change has had a significant impact on the seasonal transition dates of Arctic tundra ecosystems, causing diverse variations between distinct land surface classes. However, the combined effect of multiple controls as well as their individual effects on these dates remains unclear at various scales and across diverse land surface classes. Here we quantified spatiotemporal variations of three seasonal transition dates (start of spring, maximum normalized difference vegetation index (NDVImax ) day, end of fall) for five dominating land surface classes in the ice-free Greenland. Using a distributed snow model, structural equation modeling, and a random forest model, based on ground observations and remote sensing data, we assessed the indirect and direct effects of climate, snow, and terrain on seasonal transition dates. We then presented new projections of likely changes in seasonal transition dates under six future climate scenarios. The coupled climate, snow cover, and terrain conditions explained up to 61% of seasonal transition dates across different land surface classes. Snow ending day played a crucial role in the start of spring and timing of NDVImax . A warmer June and a decline in wind could advance the NDVImax day. Increased precipitation and temperature during July-August are the most important for delaying the end of fall. We projected that a 1-4.5°C increase in temperature and a 5%-20% increase in precipitation would lengthen the spring-to-fall period for all five land surface classes by 2050, thus the current order of spring-to-fall lengths for the five land surface classes could undergo notable changes. Tall shrubs and fens would have a longer spring-to-fall period under the warmest and wettest scenario, suggesting a competitive advantage for these vegetation communities. This study's results illustrate controls on seasonal transition dates and portend potential changes in vegetation composition in the Arctic under climate change.

Recommendations for early referral of individuals with suspected polymyalgia rheumatica: an initiative from the international giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica study group.

OBJECTIVE: To develop international consensus-based recommendations for early referral of individuals with suspected polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). METHODS: A task force including 29 rheumatologists/internists, 4 general practitioners, 4 patients and a healthcare professional emerged from the international giant cell arteritis and PMR study group. The task force supplied clinical questions, subsequently transformed into Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome format. A systematic literature review was conducted followed by online meetings to formulate and vote on final recommendations. Levels of evidence (LOE) (1-5 scale) and agreement (LOA) (0-10 scale) were evaluated. RESULTS: Two overarching principles and five recommendations were developed. LOE was 4-5 and LOA ranged between 8.5 and 9.7. The recommendations suggest that (1) each individual with suspected or recently diagnosed PMR should be considered for specialist evaluation, (2) before referring an individual with suspected PMR to specialist care, a thorough history and clinical examination should be performed and preferably complemented with urgent basic laboratory investigations, (3) individuals with suspected PMR with severe symptoms should be referred for specialist evaluation using rapid access strategies, (4) in individuals with suspected PMR who are referred via rapid access, the commencement of glucocorticoid therapy should be deferred until after specialist evaluation and (5) individuals diagnosed with PMR in specialist care with a good initial response to glucocorticoids and a low risk of glucocorticoid related adverse events can be managed in primary care. CONCLUSIONS: These are the first international recommendations for referral of individuals with suspected PMR, which complement the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology/American College of Rheumatology management guidelines for established PMR.

Elbow hemiarthroplasty vs. open reduction internal fixation for acute Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen/Orthopaedic Trauma Association (AO/OTA) type 13C fractures-A systematic review.

Background: Open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) is the standard treatment for multifragmentary intra-articular distal humeral fractures. Fractures not amenable by ORIF are treated with total elbow arthroplasty (TEA). In recent years, elbow hemiarthroplasty (EHA) has been used as an alternative to TEA, as weight bearing restrictions and risk of component loosening are lower. We systematically reviewed the literature reporting functional outcomes and complication rates after either EHA or ORIF for Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen/Orthopaedic Trauma Association (AO/OTA) type 13C fractures. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and Scopus. The inclusion criteria were at least 5 patients, aged ≥50 years, AO/OTA type 13C fracture treated with ORIF or EHA, and evaluation with the Mayo Elbow Performance Score. Literature screening and data extraction were conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The results were synthesized qualitatively using weighted means. No comparative statistical analyses were done. Results: We included 27 articles, which included 96 patients treated with EHA and 535 patients treated with ORIF. We identified 1 randomized controlled trial and 26 case series. The weighted mean Mayo Elbow Performance Score was 86.9 (n = 89) in the EHA group and 84.7 (n = 535) in the ORIF group. There were 26 (33%) complications (n = 78) in the EHA group and 103 (38%) complications (n = 270) in the ORIF group. Complication rates were generally high in both groups. Conclusion: We found comparable results of EHA and ORIF, which indicate that EHA is a viable treatment option for AO/OTA type 13C fractures not amenable by ORIF. Because of high risk of bias, interpretation of the results should be done with caution.

Concurrent baseline diagnosis of giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica - A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) can be concurrent diseases. We aimed to estimate the point-prevalence of concurrent GCA and PMR. Additionally, an incidence rate (IR) of GCA presenting after PMR diagnosis in patients was estimated. METHODS: Two authors performed a systematic literature search, data extraction and risk of bias assessment independently. Studies assessing cohorts of patients presenting with both GCA and PMR were included. The outcomes were point-prevalence of concurrent GCA and PMR and IR for development of GCA after PMR diagnosis. A meta-analysis was performed to calculate a pooled prevalence of concurrent PMR and GCA. RESULTS: We identified 29 studies investigating concurrent GCA and PMR. Only two studies applied imaging systematically to diagnose GCA and none to diagnose PMR. GCA presenting after PMR diagnosis was assessed in 12 studies but imaging was not applied systematically. The point-prevalence of concurrent GCA present at PMR diagnosis ranged from 6%-66%. The pooled estimate of the point-prevalence from the meta-analysis was 22%. The point-prevalence of PMR present at GCA diagnosis ranged from 16%-65%. The pooled estimate of the point-prevalence from the meta-analysis was 42%. The IR ranged between 2-78 cases of GCA presenting after PMR per 1000 person-years. CONCLUSION: This review and meta-analysis support that concurrent GCA and PMR is frequently present at the time of diagnosis. Additionally, we present the current evidence of GCA presenting in patients after PMR diagnosis. These results emphasize the need for studies applying imaging modalities to diagnose GCA.

Forecasting large-scale circulation regimes using deformable convolutional neural networks and global spatiotemporal climate data.

Classifying the state of the atmosphere into a finite number of large-scale circulation regimes is a popular way of investigating teleconnections, the predictability of severe weather events, and climate change. Here, we investigate a supervised machine learning approach based on deformable convolutional neural networks (deCNNs) and transfer learning to forecast the North Atlantic-European weather regimes during extended boreal winter for 1-15 days into the future. We apply state-of-the-art interpretation techniques from the machine learning literature to attribute particular regions of interest or potential teleconnections relevant for any given weather cluster prediction or regime transition. We demonstrate superior forecasting performance relative to several classical meteorological benchmarks, as well as logistic regression and random forests. Due to its wider field of view, we also observe deCNN achieving considerably better performance than regular convolutional neural networks at lead times beyond 5-6 days. Finally, we find transfer learning to be of paramount importance, similar to previous data-driven atmospheric forecasting studies.

Extreme duration exercise affects old and younger men differently.

AIM & METHODS: Extreme endurance exercise provides a valuable research model for understanding the adaptive metabolic response of older and younger individuals to intense physical activity. Here, we compare a wide range of metabolic and physiologic parameters in two cohorts of seven trained men, age 30 ± 5 years or age 65 ± 6 years, before and after the participants travelled ≈3000 km by bicycle over 15 days. RESULTS: Over the 15-day exercise intervention, participants lost 2-3 kg fat mass with no significant change in body weight. V̇O2 max did not change in younger cyclists, but decreased (p = 0.06) in the older cohort. The resting plasma FFA concentration decreased markedly in both groups, and plasma glucose increased in the younger group. In the older cohort, plasma LDL-cholesterol and plasma triglyceride decreased. In skeletal muscle, fat transporters CD36 and FABPm remained unchanged. The glucose handling proteins GLUT4 and SNAP23 increased in both groups. Mitochondrial ROS production decreased in both groups, and ADP sensitivity increased in skeletal muscle in the older but not in the younger cohort. CONCLUSION: In summary, these data suggest that older but not younger individuals experience a negative adaptive response affecting cardiovascular function in response to extreme endurance exercise, while a positive response to the same exercise intervention is observed in peripheral tissues in younger and older men. The results also suggest that the adaptive thresholds differ in younger and old men, and this difference primarily affects central cardiovascular functions in older men after extreme endurance exercise.

Influences of summer warming and nutrient availability on Salix glauca L. growth in Greenland along an ice to sea gradient.

The combined effects of climate change and nutrient availability on Arctic vegetation growth are poorly understood. Archaeological sites in the Arctic could represent unique nutrient hotspots for studying the long-term effect of nutrient enrichment. In this study, we analysed a time-series of ring widths of Salix glauca L. collected at nine archaeological sites and in their natural surroundings along a climate gradient in the Nuuk fjord region, Southwest Greenland, stretching from the edge of the Greenlandic Ice Sheet in the east to the open sea in the west. We assessed the temperature-growth relationship for the last four decades distinguishing between soils with past anthropogenic nutrient enrichment (PANE) and without (controls). Along the East-West gradient, the inner fjord sites showed a stronger temperature signal compared to the outermost ones. Individuals growing in PANE soils had wider ring widths than individuals growing in the control soils and a stronger climate-growth relation, especially in the inner fjord sites. Thereby, the individuals growing on the archaeological sites seem to have benefited more from the climate warming in recent decades. Our results suggest that higher nutrient availability due to past human activities plays a role in Arctic vegetation growth and should be considered when assessing both the future impact of plants on archaeological sites and the general greening in landscapes with contrasting nutrient availability.

Task-specific information outperforms surveillance-style big data in predictive analytics.

Increasingly, human behavior can be monitored through the collection of data from digital devices revealing information on behaviors and locations. In the context of higher education, a growing number of schools and universities collect data on their students with the purpose of assessing or predicting behaviors and academic performance, and the COVID-19-induced move to online education dramatically increases what can be accumulated in this way, raising concerns about students' privacy. We focus on academic performance and ask whether predictive performance for a given dataset can be achieved with less privacy-invasive, but more task-specific, data. We draw on a unique dataset on a large student population containing both highly detailed measures of behavior and personality and high-quality third-party reported individual-level administrative data. We find that models estimated using the big behavioral data are indeed able to accurately predict academic performance out of sample. However, models using only low-dimensional and arguably less privacy-invasive administrative data perform considerably better and, importantly, do not improve when we add the high-resolution, privacy-invasive behavioral data. We argue that combining big behavioral data with "ground truth" administrative registry data can ideally allow the identification of privacy-preserving task-specific features that can be employed instead of current indiscriminate troves of behavioral data, with better privacy and better prediction resulting.

The Negative Effect of Smartphone Use on Academic Performance May Be Overestimated: Evidence From a 2-Year Panel Study.

In this study, we monitored 470 university students' smartphone usage continuously over 2 years to assess the relationship between in-class smartphone use and academic performance. We used a novel data set in which smartphone use and grades were recorded across multiple courses, allowing us to examine this relationship at the student level and the student-in-course level. In accordance with the existing literature, our results showed that students' in-class smartphone use was negatively associated with their grades, even when we controlled for a broad range of observed student characteristics. However, the magnitude of the association decreased substantially in a fixed-effects model, which leveraged the panel structure of the data to control for all stable student and course characteristics, including those not observed by researchers. This suggests that the size of the effect of smartphone usage on academic performance has been overestimated in studies that controlled for only observed student characteristics.

Histomorphometric case-control study of subarticular osteophytes in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this cross-sectional case-control study was to determine the prevalence and size of marginal and subarticular osteophytes in patients with osteoarthritis (OA), and to compare these to that of a control group. DESIGN: We investigated femoral heads from 25 patients with OA following hip replacement surgery, and 25 femoral heads from a control group obtained post-mortem. The area and boundary length of the femoral head, marginal osteophytes, and subarticular osteophytes were determined with histomorphometry. Marginal osteophytes were defined histologically as bony projections at the peripheral margin of the femoral head, while subarticular osteophytes were defined as areas of bone that expanded from the normal curvature of the femoral head into the articular cartilage. RESULTS: The prevalence of OA patients with marginal- and subarticular osteophytes were 100 and 84%, respectively. Whereas the prevalence of the participants in the control group with marginal- and subarticular osteophytes were 56 and 28%, respectively. The area and boundary length of marginal osteophytes was (median (Interquartile range)) 165.3mm2 (121.4-254.0) mm2 and 75.1 mm (50.8-99.3) mm for patients with OA compared to 0 mm2 (0-0.5) mm2 and 0 mm (0-0.5) mm for the control group (P <  0.001). For the subarticular osteophytes, the area and boundary length was 1.0 mm2 (0-4.4) mm2 and 1.4 mm (0-6.5) mm for patients with OA compared to 0 mm2 (0-0.5) mm2 and 0 mm (0-0.5) mm for the control group (P <  0.001). CONCLUSION: As expected, both marginal- and subarticular osteophytes at the femoral head, were more frequent and larger in patients with OA than in the control group. However, in the control group, subarticular osteophytes were more prevalent than expected from the minor osteophytic changes at the femoral head margin, which may suggest that subarticular osteophytes are an early degenerative phenomenon that ultimately might develop into clinical osteoarthritis.

Fungal attack on archaeological wooden artefacts in the Arctic-implications in a changing climate.

Climate change is expected to accelerate the microbial degradation of the many extraordinary well-preserved organic archaeological deposits found in the Arctic. This could potentially lead to a major loss of wooden artefacts that are still buried within the region. Here, we carry out the first large-scale investigation of wood degradation within archaeological deposits in the Arctic. This is done based on wooden samples from 11 archaeological sites that are located along a climatic gradient in Western Greenland. Our results show that Ascomycota fungi are causing extensive soft rot decay at all sites regardless of climate and local environment, but the group is diverse and many of the species were only found once. Cadophora species known to cause soft rot in polar environments were the most abundant Ascomycota found and their occurrence in native wood samples underlines that they are present locally. Basidiomycota fungi were also present at all sites. In the majority of samples, however, these aggressive and potentially very damaging wood degraders have caused limited decay so far, probably due to unfavorable growth conditions. The presence of these wood degrading fungi suggests that archaeological wooden artefacts may become further endangered if climate change leads to more favorable growth conditions.

Inferring transportation mode from smartphone sensors: Evaluating the potential of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Understanding which transportation modes people use is critical for smart cities and planners to better serve their citizens. We show that using information from pervasive Wi-Fi access points and Bluetooth devices can enhance GPS and geographic information to improve transportation detection on smartphones. Wi-Fi information also improves the identification of transportation mode and helps conserve battery since it is already collected by most mobile phones. Our approach uses a machine learning approach to determine the mode from pre-prepocessed data. This approach yields an overall accuracy of 89% and average F1 score of 83% for inferring the three grouped modes of self-powered, car-based, and public transportation. When broken out by individual modes, Wi-Fi features improve detection accuracy of bus trips, train travel, and driving compared to GPS features alone and can substitute for GIS features without decreasing performance. Our results suggest that Wi-Fi and Bluetooth can be useful in urban transportation research, for example by improving mobile travel surveys and urban sensing applications.

Drinking and Water Handling in the Medaka Intestine: A Possible Role of Claudin-15 in Paracellular Absorption?

When euryhaline fish move between fresh water (FW) and seawater (SW), the intestine undergoes functional changes to handle imbibed SW. In Japanese medaka, the potential transcellular aquaporin-mediated conduits for water are paradoxically downregulated during SW acclimation, suggesting paracellular transport to be of principal importance in hyperosmotic conditions. In mammals, intestinal claudin-15 (CLDN15) forms paracellular channels for small cations and water, which may participate in water transport. Since two cldn15 paralogs, cldn15a and cldn15b, have previously been identified in medaka, we examined the salinity effects on their mRNA expression and immunolocalization in the intestine. In addition, we analyzed the drinking rate and intestinal water handling by adding non-absorbable radiotracers, 51-Cr-EDTA or 99-Tc-DTPA, to the water. The drinking rate was >2-fold higher in SW than FW-acclimated fish, and radiotracer experiments showed anterior accumulation in FW and posterior buildup in SW intestines. Salinity had no effect on expression of cldn15a, while cldn15b was approximately 100-fold higher in FW than SW. Despite differences in transcript dynamics, Cldn15a and Cldn15b proteins were both similarly localized in the apical tight junctions of enterocytes, co-localizing with occludin and with no apparent difference in localization and abundance between FW and SW. The stability of the Cldn15 protein suggests a physiological role in water transport in the medaka intestine.

Quality of recovery after major emergency abdominal surgery: a prospective observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Major emergency abdominal surgery results in high morbidity and mortality. We aimed to describe patient-reported quality of recovery after major emergency abdominal surgery. METHODS: A prospective observational cohort study of patients undergoing major emergency abdominal surgery at a University Hospital was conducted in the period between November 2016 and February 2017. Patients were interviewed using the 15-item questionnaire Quality of Recovery (QoR-15) six times over the first 30 postoperative days. Patients' maximum score of QoR-15 ranging from 0-150 were divided into four groups depending on recovery status going from poor (score of 0-89), moderate (score of 90-121), good (score of 122-135) to excellent (score of 136-150) recovery. RESULTS: A total of 37 patients were included in the trial. At postoperative day (POD) 1 the recovery status of the patients was mainly poor to moderate (poor N.=8 [22%], moderate N.=23 [62%], good N.=4 [11%] and excellent N.=2 [5%]). Sixteen (55%) of the patients reported a poor or moderate recovery within the first 7 days after surgery, which advanced to good or excellent recovery (N.=19 [68%]) from POD 14. The patients were not fully recovered at POD 30 (N.=18 [62%] had an excellent recovery). CONCLUSIONS: Recovery measured by QoR-15 is substantially affected after major emergency abdominal surgery even after 14- and 30 days postoperatively. The patients were poor or only moderately recovered within the first seven postoperative days and only 62% of the patients were fully recovered at postoperative day 30.

Age-related histological changes in calcified cartilage and subchondral bone in femoral heads from healthy humans.

OBJECTIVE: Age is the most important risk factor for osteoarthritis (OA). It is suggested that changes in subchondral bone and calcified cartilage may occur in early OA. Therefore, the aim was to investigate age-related changes in the femoral head composition. We hypothesise that the thickness of the subchondral bone plate decreases with age, while the thickness of the calcified cartilage increases with age as seen in early-stage OA. METHODS: Femoral heads from 29 women (20-74 years) and 32 men (23-78 years), who had died suddenly and unexpectedly, were obtained at autopsy. Individuals with bone or joint diseases or macroscopic abnormal cartilage were excluded. Using design-based stereology, femoral head volume as well as thickness and volume of the calcified cartilage and subchondral bone plate were estimated and correlated to sex and age. RESULTS: The thickness and volume of the subchondral bone plate were not correlated with age. Calcified cartilage thickness and volume correlated positively with age in women, while the femoral head volume was correlated positively with age in men. CONCLUSION: In human femoral heads obtained from a cross-sectional population without macroscopic OA changes, the thickness of the subchondral bone plate did not change with age, which differs from the thinning seen in early OA. Surprisingly, the age-related changes of the volume and thickness of the calcified cartilage and of the volume of the femoral head were different for women and men. This indicate that cartilage and bone metabolism is sex-specific, which may influence ageing of the hip joint.