Abstract #0199

T2 Texture Analysis Reveals Potential Cartilage-preserving Effect in Presence of Heterozygous WNT1 Mutation in Human

Sami Lehtovirta^1,2, Riikka E Mäkitie³, Victor Casula^1,2, Marianne Haapea¹, Jaakko Niinimäki^1,2, Tuukka Niinimäki⁴, Arttu Peuna², Eveliina Lammentausta², Outi Mäkitie^3,5,6, and Miika T Nieminen^1,2

¹Research Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland, ²Medical Research Center, University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland, ³Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, ⁴Department of Orthopedics, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland, ⁵Children’s Hospital, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland, ⁶Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and Clinical Genetics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

Quantitative MRI (qMRI) assessment of tibiofemoral articular cartilage was performed in 13 WNT1 mutation-positive (MP) subjects and 13 mutation-negative (MN) controls. Cartilage thickness, T2 and T1r relaxation times, and texture features contrast, homogeneity and dissimilarity of T2 maps were determined in six regions of interests. Texture features demonstrated an opposing trend with age between the two groups in medial tibiofemoral cartilage, suggesting a possible age-related cartilage preservation in MP subjects. Similar differences were not observed in the other qMRI parameters, suggesting that texture analysis is a more sensitive and accurate tool for quantitative cartilage assessment than mere mean relaxation time measurements.

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