Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33356475›Full record

ArticleCartilage2021

Longitudinal Change in Knee Cartilage Thickness and Function in Subjects with and without MRI-Diagnosed Cartilage Damage.

Anna Wisser, Andreas Lapper, Frank Roemer, David Fuerst, Susanne Maschek, Wolfgang Wirth, Georg N Duda, Felix Eckstein

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cartilage, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Unworn cartilage in total knee arthroplasty strongly deviates from 2 mm: MRI, robotic-assisted and ruler assessment.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Anna WisserDepartment of Imaging & Functional Musculoskeletal Research, Institute of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
Andreas LapperDepartment of Imaging & Functional Musculoskeletal Research, Institute of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
Frank RoemerDepartment of Radiology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg & Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-9238-7350
David FuerstDepartment of Imaging & Functional Musculoskeletal Research, Institute of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
Susanne MaschekDepartment of Imaging & Functional Musculoskeletal Research, Institute of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
Wolfgang WirthDepartment of Imaging & Functional Musculoskeletal Research, Institute of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
Georg N DudaJulius Wolff Institute and Berlin Institute of Health Center for Regenerative Therapies, Charite-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Felix EcksteinDepartment of Imaging & Functional Musculoskeletal Research, Institute of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-2014-8278
Paracelsus Medical University · ATBerlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin · DEBoston University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveCartilage damage diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is highly prevalent in the population. In this article, we explore whether such cartilage damage is associated with greater longitudinal change in 3D cartilage thickness and knee function in subjects without (risk factors of) knee osteoarthritis.

designEighty-two knees of Osteoarthritis Initiative healthy reference cohort participants had baseline and 4-year follow-up MRI and knee function data. Baseline presence of semiquantitatively assessed MRI-based cartilage damage (MOAKS [MRI Osteoarthritis Knee Score] ≥ grade 1.0) was recorded by an experienced radiologist. Longitudinal femorotibial cartilage thickness change was determined after segmentation, using location-independent methodology. Knee function was evaluated by patient-reported outcomes and functional performance measures. Statistical comparisons included analysis of covariance adjusting for age, sex, and body mass index.

resultsForty-five percent of the participants had cartilage damage in at least one femorotibial subregion; the cartilage thickness change score was 15% greater in participants with than in those without damage (1216 ± 434 vs. 1058 ± 277 µm). This difference reached borderline statistical significance with and without adjustment for age, sex, and body mass index (

conclusionsIn the absence of osteoarthritis risk factors, semiquantitatively assessed MRI-based cartilage damage appears to be associated with greater longitudinal location-independent femorotibial cartilage thickness changes, but not with greater functional deteriorations.

Indexed as

Cartilage, ArticularOsteoarthritis, KneeAgedCohort StudiesHumansKnee JointMagnetic Resonance Imagingcartilage damagecartilage thicknessdeteriorationknee functionMRI

Identifiers

PMID33356475
PMCPMC8808787
OpenAlexW3117535432

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.