MRI study of age related changes in a meniscus

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine age related changes in menisci using dimensions of menisci on MRI. The standard dimensions of lateral and medial menisci help us to determine age related changes, and this may be important for planning surgical interventions. Materials and methods: 100 Indian patients with history of knee pain were subjected to MRI. None of the patients had any pathological signal intensity suggesting meniscal tear. Patients were scanned in supine position with knees extended. All patients were studied in sagittal and coronal planes. The Anterior horn, Posterior horn and Mid-body of menisci were examined in sagittal and coronal plane for the following parameters. Height and width of anterior and posterior horn of lateral and medial meniscus on sagittal plane and height and width of mid-body of lateral and medial menisci on coronal plane were examined. Height and width of anterior and posterior horn were measured on sagittal plane where the highest and widest meniscal size was observed. The mid-body was measured at the level of inter condylar eminence, in the coronal plane. The total data of 100 patients collected, was numbered as per the ascending order of age. The relationship between age and meniscal parameters of the cases was evaluated in this study by using correlation analyses. Correlation was significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). The tests were applied and graphically represented. The SPSS 10.0 program was used for statistical analyses. Data are presented as mean + SD. Results: We found that, more meniscal tears were seen where height and width of meniscus was less. In a particular age group where height and width was less, early signs of osteoarthritis should be predicted. This study shall be useful for tissue banks and surgeons, for meniscal sizing during transplantation in a particular age group. Conclusion: It was observed that as age increases, significant decrease was seen in height of anterior horn of medial meniscus, height and width of posterior horn of both the meniscus, and width of anterior horn of lateral meniscus.