Platelet Rich Plasma Effects on Knee Cartilage and Osteoarthritis Symptoms: T2, UTE-T2* and Patient Reported Outcomes Over 6-months Follow-Up

Motivation: Clinical evidence of structural benefits to cartilage from Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections to treat knee osteoarthritis is lacking. Goal(s): Our goal was to use T2 and UTE-T2* relaxation times to assess cartilage structural improvements following PRP therapy. Approach: Patient reported outcomes, T2 and UTE-T2* maps were acquired before and 6 months after completion of PRP treatment in 50 patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. Results: On average, participants reported symptomatic improvements following PRP. Significant changes to cartilage T2 and UTE-T2* were also observed. Improvements in patient-reported knee function and stiffness correlated to concurrent decreases in both T2 and UTE-T2*. Impact: qMRI evaluation of the clinical efficacy of PRP treatment of symptomatic knee OA shows that changes to patient reported knee function associate with concurrent changes to cartilage structure assessed with T2 and UTE-T2*.