Diffusion-weighted MRI of the spinal cord in cervical spondylotic myelopathy after instrumented fusion. Front Neurol 2023;14:1172833
Date
06/05/2023Pubmed ID
37273696Pubmed Central ID
PMC10236479DOI
10.3389/fneur.2023.1172833Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85161052826 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 1 CitationAbstract
INTRODUCTION: This study investigated tissue diffusion properties within the spinal cord of individuals treated for cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) using post-decompression stabilization hardware. While previous research has indicated the potential of diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) markers of CSM, the metallic implants often used to stabilize the decompressed spine hamper conventional DW-MRI.
METHODS: Utilizing recent developments in DW-MRI metal-artifact suppression technologies, imaging data was acquired from 38 CSM study participants who had undergone instrumented fusion, as well as asymptomatic (non-instrumented) control participants. Apparent diffusion coefficients were determined in axial slice sections and split into four categories: a) instrumented levels, b) non-instrumented CSM levels, c) adjacent-segment (to instrumentation) CSM levels, and d) non-instrumented control levels. Multi-linear regression models accounting for age, sex, and body mass index were used to investigate ADC measures within each category. Furthermore, the cord diffusivity within CSM subjects was correlated with symptom scores and the duration since fusion procedures.
RESULTS: ADC measures of the spinal cord in CSM subjects were globally reduced relative to control subjects (p = 0.005). In addition, instrumented levels within the CSM subjects showed reduced diffusivity relative to controls (p = 0.003), while ADC within non-instrumented CSM levels did not statistically deviate from control levels (p = 0.107).
DISCUSSION: Multi-spectral DW-MRI technology can be effectively employed to evaluate cord diffusivity near fusion hardware in subjects who have undergone surgery for CSM. Leveraging this advanced technology, this study had identified significant reductions in cord diffusivity, relative to control subjects, in CSM patients treated with conventional metallic fusion instrumentation.
Author List
Koch KM, Nencka AS, Klein A, Wang M, Kurpad S, Vedantam A, Budde MAuthors
Matthew Budde PhD Associate Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of WisconsinAndrew P. Klein MD Chief, Associate Professor in the Radiology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Kevin M. Koch PhD Center Director, Professor in the Radiology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Shekar N. Kurpad MD, PhD Chair, Director, Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Andrew S. Nencka PhD Director, Associate Professor in the Radiology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Aditya Vedantam MD Assistant Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Marjorie Wang MD Clinical Transformation Officer, Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
