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FDG PET/MRI Imaging of Patellofemoral Joint Osteoarthritis

Understanding Painful Inflammation in Patellofemoral Joint OA Using [18F] FDG

Who can join

Ages 18 and older · All sexes

Inclusion Criteria:

* Adult with the capacity to give informed consent
* Ability to perform 25 single-leg squats
* No traumatic knee injuries/surgeries since last visit for the parent study (IRB #21-34763)
* No investigational drugs since last visit for the parent study (IRB #21-34763)
* No contraindications to MRI or PET tracer since last visit for the parent study (IRB #21-34763)
* Not taking steroid injections
* Not pregnant
* Additional inclusion criteria for healthy volunteers: Minimal pain (VAS=0-1) during a series of 25 single-leg squats on one or both legs

Exclusion Criteria:

* Inability to consent for themselves
* Inability to perform 25 single-leg squats with the study leg
* New traumatic knee injuries/surgeries since last visit for the parent study (IRB #21-34763)
* Taking investigational drugs since last visit for the parent study (IRB #21-34763)
* New contraindications to MRI or PET tracer since last visit for the parent study (IRB #21-34763)
* Taking steroid injections
* Pregnant
* Diabetic
* Additional exclusion criteria for healthy volunteers: VAS of 2 or greater during a series of 25 single-leg squats on both legs

About the study

This project aims to develop an \[18F\] fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) / magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method to locate the painful inflammation in PFJ OA associated with joint loading. \[18F\] FDG PET/MRI is an emerging pain imaging approach with enhanced sensitivity to painful hypermetabolic inflammation through evaluation of intracellular glucose utilization rate via (\[18F\]FDG PET) and fine anatomy details (MRI). The investigative group has shown its promise in revealing previously unidentified or unspecified pain generators in various musculoskeletal pain conditions. The investigators have also demonstrated the feasibility of visualizing the structural changes between unloaded and loaded knee joints with MRI, which can be easily adopted in the current PET/MRI setting. The main challenge in the proposed \[18F\]FDG PET/MRI approach is to differentiate the normal uptake of FDG for metabolic changes by weight-bearing from abnormal changes indicating eventual pain aggravation by weight-bearing and knee-flexion. The investigators have garnered the following two aims to validate the proposed method by comparing unloaded and loaded knee imaging results between PFJ OA pain patients and asymptomatic, matched controls.

Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco · Participants: 50 · Started: Feb 19, 2025

Contact the study team

• Eric Hammond · Phone: 415-502-6470

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT07625150

Locations in the U.S.

Conditions

• Knee Osteoarthritis

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.