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Clinical Aspects: A Rheumatologist’s Perspective

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Cartilage Imaging

Abstract

From a rheumatologist’s perspective, cartilage imaging is most significant in the setting of osteoarthritis. Symptomatic osteoarthritis (OA) causes substantial physical and psychosocial disability [1]. In the early 1990s, over 7 million Americans were limited in their ability to participate in their main daily activities, such as going to school or work or maintaining their independence – simply because of their arthritis [2]. Interestingly, the risk for disability (defined as needing help walking or climbing stairs) attributable to knee OA is as great as that attributable to cardiovascular disease and greater than that due to any other medical condition in elderly persons [1]. Like arthritis prevalence, the prevalence of arthritis-related disability is also expected to rise by the year 2020, when an estimated 11.6 million people will be affected [2].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Research, New England Baptist Hospital, 125 Parker Hill Ave, Boston, MA, 02120, USA

    David J. Hunter

  2. Rheumatology Department, Royal North Shore Hospital, University of Sydney, Pacific Highway, St. Leonards, NSW, 2065, Australia

    David J. Hunter

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Radiology, University of California, San Francisco, 400 Parnassus Ave., A-367, San Francisco, 94143-0628, California, USA

    Thomas M. Link

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Hunter, D.J. (2011). Clinical Aspects: A Rheumatologist’s Perspective. In: Link, T. (eds) Cartilage Imaging. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8438-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8438-8_2

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