Higher aggrecan 1-F21 epitope concentration in synovial fluid early after anterior cruciate ligament injury is associated with worse knee cartilage quality assessed by gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance imaging 20 years later
Background: To investigate if cartilage related biomarkers in synovial fluid are associated with knee cartilage status 20 years after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Methods: We studied 25 patients with a complete ACL rupture without subsequent ACL reconstruction or radiographic knee OA. All had a delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) 20 years af