Valoración del proceso degenerativo articular de la rodilla mediante resonancia magnética

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease of the whole joint that presents obvious signs at advanced stages preceded by a long asymptomatic period difficult to identify. Conventional X-ray is still the most common utilized method for diagnosis, however, it remains silent during most of the degenerative process and it presents late indirect signs of degeneration, such as joint space narrowing and osteophytes. Despite its cost, MR has demonstrated to be a really effective method to evaluate initial degenerative changes in OA. Quantitative MRI has been shown to be able to detect some of the initial changes at early stages of OA, however, this technique requires highly specialized technicians and an elevated cost. In addition, compositional MR is one of the most promising techniques for the visualization and quantification of pre-morphologic cartilage changes by analyzing the biomechanical properties that take place at the early onset of the disease. Likewise, synovial fluid analysis and the presence of certain biomarkers constitute an additional method for the evaluation of early degenerative changes in OA.