Article: Age-related diffusion patterns in human lumbar intervertebral discs: A pilot study in asymptomatic subjects
| Title | Age-related diffusion patterns in human lumbar intervertebral discs: A pilot study in asymptomatic subjects | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authors | Zhang, Z1 Chan, Q1 Anthony, MP1 Samartzis, D1 Cheung, KMC1 Khong, PL1 Kim, M1 | ||||
| Keywords | Age-related degenerative disc change Diffusion tensor imaging Histogram analysis Intervertebral disc | ||||
| Issue Date | 2012 | ||||
| Publisher | Elsevier Inc. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/mri | ||||
| Citation | Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2012, v. 30 n. 2, p. 181-188 [How to Cite?] DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mri.2011.09.021 | ||||
| Abstract | Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) may provide an accurate noninvasive method of detecting degenerative matrix alterations in human lumbar intervertebral discs (IVDs). This study aimed to investigate age-related degenerative changes in human lumbar IVDs using DTI. Thirty asymptomatic volunteers ranging in age from 25 to 67 years underwent single-shot diffusion weighted echo-planar imaging on a 3 T scanner. DTI-derived metrics including fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were analyzed by a histogram analysis method. A Mann-Whitney test was used to compare subject groups (young and elderly) with respect to the diffusion measures, and piecewise linear regression was used to characterize the change in each metric as a function of age. We found significant age-related changes in the elderly adult group, with decrease of MD (11%, P<.001) and increase of FA (20%, P<.001). Our results demonstrate that the degenerative-related changes taking place in the IVDs through aging can be quantitatively accessed by DTI-derived metrics, while the morphologic changes are difficult to be identified in conventional T 2-weighted images. Our initial findings suggest that it would be worthwhile to validate the relationship between DTI metrics and the actual degenerative status of IVDs using extracted disc samples and to extend it to studies on patients with degenerative discs in order to further explore the clinical usefulness and relevance of DTI. © 2012 Elsevier Inc. | ||||
| ISSN | 0730-725X 2011 Impact Factor: 1.991 2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.193 | ||||
| DOI | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mri.2011.09.021 | ||||
| ISI Accession Number ID | WOS:000299453200005
Funding Information: The authors thank Dr. Florence Mok and Ms. Yu Pei for assisting in radiologic assessment and subject recruitment, respectively. The work was supported by a grant from the General Research Fund sponsored by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong. | ||||
| References | References in Scopus |
| dc.contributor.author | Zhang, Z | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dc.contributor.author | Chan, Q | ||||
| dc.contributor.author | Anthony, MP | ||||
| dc.contributor.author | Samartzis, D | ||||
| dc.contributor.author | Cheung, KMC | ||||
| dc.contributor.author | Khong, PL | ||||
| dc.contributor.author | Kim, M | ||||
| dc.date.accessioned | 2011-08-26T14:25:22Z | ||||
| dc.date.available | 2011-08-26T14:25:22Z | ||||
| dc.date.issued | 2012 | ||||
| dc.description.abstract | Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) may provide an accurate noninvasive method of detecting degenerative matrix alterations in human lumbar intervertebral discs (IVDs). This study aimed to investigate age-related degenerative changes in human lumbar IVDs using DTI. Thirty asymptomatic volunteers ranging in age from 25 to 67 years underwent single-shot diffusion weighted echo-planar imaging on a 3 T scanner. DTI-derived metrics including fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were analyzed by a histogram analysis method. A Mann-Whitney test was used to compare subject groups (young and elderly) with respect to the diffusion measures, and piecewise linear regression was used to characterize the change in each metric as a function of age. We found significant age-related changes in the elderly adult group, with decrease of MD (11%, P<.001) and increase of FA (20%, P<.001). Our results demonstrate that the degenerative-related changes taking place in the IVDs through aging can be quantitatively accessed by DTI-derived metrics, while the morphologic changes are difficult to be identified in conventional T 2-weighted images. Our initial findings suggest that it would be worthwhile to validate the relationship between DTI metrics and the actual degenerative status of IVDs using extracted disc samples and to extend it to studies on patients with degenerative discs in order to further explore the clinical usefulness and relevance of DTI. © 2012 Elsevier Inc. | ||||
| dc.description.nature | Link_to_subscribed_fulltext | ||||
| dc.identifier.citation | Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2012, v. 30 n. 2, p. 181-188 [How to Cite?] DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mri.2011.09.021 | ||||
| dc.identifier.citeulike | 9997417 | ||||
| dc.identifier.doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mri.2011.09.021 | ||||
| dc.identifier.epage | 188 | ||||
| dc.identifier.hkuros | 189133 | ||||
| dc.identifier.isi | WOS:000299453200005
Funding Information: The authors thank Dr. Florence Mok and Ms. Yu Pei for assisting in radiologic assessment and subject recruitment, respectively. The work was supported by a grant from the General Research Fund sponsored by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong. | ||||
| dc.identifier.issn | 0730-725X 2011 Impact Factor: 1.991 2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.193 | ||||
| dc.identifier.issue | 2 | ||||
| dc.identifier.pmid | 22055854 | ||||
| dc.identifier.scopus | eid_2-s2.0-84855516184 | ||||
| dc.identifier.spage | 181 | ||||
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10722/137450 | ||||
| dc.identifier.volume | 30 | ||||
| dc.language | eng | ||||
| dc.publisher | Elsevier Inc. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/mri | ||||
| dc.publisher.place | United States | ||||
| dc.relation.ispartof | Magnetic Resonance Imaging | ||||
| dc.relation.references | References in Scopus | ||||
| dc.subject.mesh | Aging - pathology | ||||
| dc.subject.mesh | Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods | ||||
| dc.subject.mesh | Intervertebral Disc - pathology | ||||
| dc.subject.mesh | Lumbar Vertebrae - pathology | ||||
| dc.subject.mesh | Pilot Projects | ||||
| dc.subject | Age-related degenerative disc change | ||||
| dc.subject | Diffusion tensor imaging | ||||
| dc.subject | Histogram analysis | ||||
| dc.subject | Intervertebral disc | ||||
| dc.title | Age-related diffusion patterns in human lumbar intervertebral discs: A pilot study in asymptomatic subjects | ||||
| dc.type | Article |
Author Affiliations
- Philips Healthcare