THE ROLE OF VASCULAR REMODELING IN THE FORMATION OF STRUCTURAL PHENOTYPES OF OSTEOARTHRITIS

Aim. Evaluation of the role of vascular remodeling in the formation of structural phenotypes of osteoarthritis (OA).Materials and methods. 62 patients with OA aged 65,9±8,8 years and 18 volunteers without clinical and roentgenologic signs of OA aged 60,7±7,9 years were examined. All patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging of knee joints. To analyze the structural changes in the tissues of the knee joint, the WORMS protocol was used for magnetic resonance imaging. The thickness of the vascular wall, the external diameter, the vascular index (VI) were measured – the ratio of the diameter of the lumen of the vessel to the thickness of the popliteal artery (PA) wall, the branch of the upper lateral artery (LA), the medial artery of the knee (MA).Results. The analysis of the parameters of the arteries of the knee joint showed that with a subchondral OA phenotype, the thickness of the PA wall is statistically significantly larger than the cartilage phenotype, and the vascular index of the PA is significantly higher in the group of the cartilaginous phenotype. The upper LA wall was significantly thicker in the subchondral OA phenotype. VI of the upper LA was significantly lower in patients with a subchondral phenotype compared with the cartilaginous phenotype. The thickness of the MA wall was also larger with a bone phenotype, and VI with a cartilaginous phenotype.Conclusion. The results of the study showed the relationship between vascular remodeling and structural progression of OA. Changes in the vascular wall adversely affect all joint tissues, leading to their remodeling. It was established that the degree of vascular remodeling determines the formation of structural OA phenotypes. Severe vascular changes are associated with the subchondral OA phenotype.