Spinal Cord MR Diffusion Properties in Patients with Degenerative Cervical Cord Compression
2017
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has
previously been used as a biomarker of myelopathy in patients
with degenerative cervical cord compression (DCCC). However,
many factors may affect the diffusion properties of the spinal
cord. This prospective study seeks to identify sources of
variability in spinal cord DTI parameters in both DCCC patients
and healthy subjects. METHODS: The study group included 130
patients with DCCC confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging and
71 control subjects without signs of DCCC. DTI data of the
cervical spine were acquired in all subjects. Fractional
anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values
were measured at different levels of the spinal cord (SCLs).
Statistical data analysis was then used to determine diffusion
parameters in terms of age, sex, SCL, and spinal cord
compression. RESULTS: Significant variations in FA and ADC
values emerged when several spinal cord levels were mutually
compared in the control group. FA values correlated
significantly with age in the DCCC group and sex had a
significant influence on ADC values in both groups. The two
diffusion parameters in the DCCC group differed significantly
between patients with clinical signs of mild-to-moderate
myelopathy compared with asymptomatic patients, and correlated
with measurements of spinal canal morphology. CONCLUSIONS:
Diffusion parameters of the cervical spinal cord were thus
shown to respond significantly to spinal cord compression, but
were subject to interaction with several other factors
including sex, age, and SCL. These findings may be important to
the interpretation of DTI measurements in individual patients.
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