Thirty Minutes of Running Exercise Decreases T2 Signal Intensity but Not Thickness of the Knee Joint Cartilage: A 3.0-T Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies showed a potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which can be used as an additional tool for diagnosing cartilage degeneration in the early stage. We designed a cross-sectional study in order to evaluate knee joint cartilage adaptation to running, using 3.0-T MRI equipped with the 3-dimensional turbo spin echo (VISTA = Volume ISotropic Turbo spin echo Acquisition) software. By this thickness (mm) and signal intensity (mean pixel value) can be quantified, which could be closely related to the fluid content of the knee joint cartilage, before and after running. METHODS: A total of 22 males, aged 18 to 35 years, dominant (right) and nondominant (left) knees were assessed before and after 30 minutes of running. Cartilage thickness and signal intensity of surfaces of the patella, medial and lateral femoral and tibial condyles were measured. RESULTS: Cartilage thickness of the lateral condyle decreased at the dominant knee, while it increased at the medial tibial plateau. Signal intensity decreased at all locations, except the lateral patella in both knees. The most obvious decrease in signal intensity (10.6%) was at the medial tibial plateau from 949.8 to 849.0 of the dominant knee. CONCLUSION: There was an increase in thickness measurements and decrease in signal intensity in medial tibial plateau of the dominant knee after 30 minutes of running. This outcome could be related to fluid outflow from the tissue. Greater reductions in the medial tibial plateau cartilage indicate greater load sharing by these areas of the joint during a 30-minute running.

Determination of the width of the presacral space on magnetic resonance imaging.

Presacral space enlargement may be the first sign of certain diseases. The normal width of the presacral space has not been widely investigated and in all previous studies was calculated from lateral radiographs obtained at barium enema examination. Our study determined the normal width of the presacral space on MRI and investigated a possible difference between men and women. The width of the presacral space was measured retrospectively from sagittal T2-weighted MR images of 193 patients (87 males; 106 females, aged 18-83 years). Presacral space width was measured separately for S1, S2, and S3 vertebral levels from the anterior surface of the vertebral bodies to the closest part of the posterior wall of the rectum. Differences between male and female subjects were analyzed by t-tests. Normal mean widths of the presacral space in men and women were 16.2 mm and 11.9 mm for S1, 14.9 mm and 11.2 mm for S2, and 13.0 mm and 10.6 mm for S3, respectively. Measurements of the presacral space width in men were significantly larger than in women at all three levels (P < 0.001 for S1, P < 0.001 for S2, P = 0.006 for S3). In summary, the presacral space width measured on MRI was found to be significantly larger in the male than in the female population.

A 34-week-old male fetus with short rib polydactyly syndrome (SRPS) type I (Saldino-Noonan) with pancreatic cysts.

A 34-week-old male fetus (first diagnosed at 28 weeks of gestation) with short rib polydactyly type I Saldino-Noonan syndrome is presented in this study. In the postmortem examination of the fetus, pancreatic dysplasia, multiple cysts and multicystic dysplastic kidneys, omphalomesenteric cyst, ascites, malrotation, micropenis, undescended testes, bilateral inguinal hernia and hydrops were observed. The parents were first-degree cousins. One male and one female sibling had similar findings and both had died after birth. Only a four-year-old healthy daughter was alive. We believe these findings will be helpful in the differential diagnosis of further lethal skeletal dysplasia cases.