New Publications on Perthes’ disease!

Upright MRI at Vancouver General Hospital used in Luke Johnson’s research on Perthes’ disease.

We’re thrilled to announce that Luke Johnson, who recently defended his PhD under the supervision of Dr. Kishore Mulpuri and Dr. David Wilson at the Centre for Aging SMART, recently had the first two chapters of his thesis published—within a week of each other! Congratulations, Luke!

Luke’s first study examined how changes in hip shape after Perthes’ disease can lead to impingement, potentially increasing the risk of pain and arthritis. Using upright MRI, the research demonstrated that severe deformities reduce hip clearance, though individual variability was noted.

His second study focused on cartilage health in hips affected by Perthes’ disease, using advanced MRI techniques to assess long-term outcomes. It revealed that cartilage degradation often begins shortly after the hip is considered "healed" and worsens over time, leading to a 15% higher rate of degradation by young adulthood.