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Clinical Article
Diffusion tensor MR imaging of cervical spinal cord: cervical spondylosis-related changes
WU Le-bin  ZHU Xiang-yu  WANG Guang-bin  LIN Xiang-tao  WANG Tao 

DOI:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8034.2010.03.006.


[Abstract] Objective: To investigate the capacity of diffusion tensor MR imaging in the spondylosis-related changes of the cervical spinal cord.Materials and Methods: Thirty-one patients with cervical spondylosis were examined with routine MRI and DTI on SIEMENS Sonata 1.5T MR scanner using single shot echo planar imaging (SE-EPI) sequences. The images of cervical spinal cord were obtained. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), fractional anisotropy (FA) values were measured on a sagittal section according to whether there were high signal on T2-weighted images or not.Results: All 31 cervical spondylosis cases completed the examinations without obvious artifacts on the diffusion tensor images. The average ADC and FA values of high signal lesions on conventional T2-weighted images (9 cases) were 1183.44±121.96×10-6 mm2/s and 432.56±59.97×10-3 (P<0.01, vs normal cervical spinal cord). The average ADC and FA values of normal signal on T2-weighted images (15 of 22 cases) were 1055.07±80.61×10-6 mm2/s and 501.87±41.09×10-3 (P<0.01, vs normal cervical spinal cord), 7 of 22 cases showed no significant difference compared with normal cervical spinal cord. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value of T2-weighted images and DTI were 29.0% and 67.7%, 71.0% and 22.6%, 27.3% and 72.7%, 75.9% and 24.1%, respectively.Conclusion: Diffusion tensor imaging is a reliable tool in demonstrating the early spondylosis-related changes of the cervical spinal cord compared with conventional T2-weighted images. It can provide useful information for chronic injury and regeneration of the cervical spinal cord.
[Keywords] Spinal cord;Diffusion tensor imaging;Cervical spondylosis;Apparent diffusion coefficient;Fractional anisotropy

WU Le-bin* Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Jinan 250021, China

ZHU Xiang-yu Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Jinan 250021, China

WANG Guang-bin Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Jinan 250021, China

LIN Xiang-tao Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Jinan 250021, China

WANG Tao Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Jinan 250021, China

*Correspondence to: Wu LB, E-mail: cjr.wulebin@vip.163.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2010-02-20
Accepted  2010-03-20
DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8034.2010.03.006
DOI:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8034.2010.03.006.

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