Quantification of aging effects upon global knee inflammation by 18F-FDG-PET

Abstract

Through the use of novel quantitative techniques, we were able to calculate GKI and demonstrate a significant increase in the entity of joint inflammation with advancing age. As degenerative disease is age-related and inflammation is implicated in its pathogenesis, our findings further support this association. These preliminary data suggest that this approach can potentially provide a means to objectively quantify the degree of inflammation in various joint disorders, and possibly in other knee degenerative/inflammatory diseases.