Vastus medialis muscle fat content as assessed by mri is a risk factor for knee XXXX progression: Relevance from a clinical trial.

@entity1 @entity571 @entity158 @entity393 @entity855
OBJECTIVE: Studies have proposed vastus medialis (VM) muscle cross-sectional area change as a variable associated with cartilage @entity393 in knee @entity571 . However, VM also includes fat (%Fat), which may influence knee function. This study analyzed the VM area and %Fat data, separately and in combination, to predict symptoms, cartilage @entity393 , and BML change in knee @entity571 . METHODS: This study included the @entity855 (n=143) population of a 2-year knee @entity571 RCT having MRI at baseline and 2 years. Correlations used multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Greater baseline value for VM area and %Fat were significantly associated with gender (male, area; female, %Fat), higher BMI, and WOMAC stiffness, function, and total score (better, high area; worse, high %Fat). Moreover, a VM %Fat increase of 1% at 2 years was associated with worsening of cartilage @entity393 in the global knee (p=0.015) and some subregions (p <=0.030), and with an increment of BML global score change (p<0.001). A 1% decrease in VM area at 2 years was associated with worsening of knee @entity158 score (p=0.048). Importantly, the concurrent presence of low VM area, high VM %Fat, and high BMI identified a subgroup of @entity1 with greater cartilage @entity393 in the medial femur (p=0.028) than the rest of the cohort. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrated, for the first time, that VM fat content is a strong predictor of cartilage @entity393 and the occurrence and progression of BML. Importantly, the combined data of VM area, VM %Fat, and BMI identified @entity1 at higher risk for @entity571 progression. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
