Evaluation of Meniscus Elasticity with Shear Wave Elastography in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

We aimed to evaluate possible elasticity changes in the menisci of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using shear wave elastography (SWE).

The medial and lateral menisci of the right and left knee of 40 patients (20 males, 20 females) with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 40 healthy controls (20 males, 20 females) were evaluated between June 2024 and September 2024. All patients and the control group were evaluated with MRI for meniscal pathology. Medial and lateral meniscal thicknesses were measured in the coronal plane in grayscale US mode. In both groups, the SWE measurement range was set to 0-8.2m/s and 0-200kPa and 2 mm ROIs were placed on the medial and lateral meniscal bodies of both knees in the coronal plane. The stiffness values of the meniscus were measured three times and the mean value of these three measurements was recorded.

There was no significant difference between meniscal thickness in diabetic patients and control group (p > 0.05). Bilateral meniscal stiffness values of diabetic patients were higher than the control group and there was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). There were moderate to strong positive correlations between meniscal stiffness values and fasting blood glucose and HA1c values in the diabetic patients(p < 0.05).

This is the first study to demonstrate that meniscus stiffness increases in diabetic patients. SWE is a quantitative imaging method that can be used to detect meniscal pathologies that may develop due to diabetes.