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Mohammadi M, Roohollahi F, Farahbakhsh F, Mohammadi A, Mortazavi Mamaghani E, Kankam SB, Moarrefdezfouli A, Ghamari Khameneh A, Mahmoudi MM, Baghdasaryan D, Martin AR, Harrop J, Rahimi-Movaghar V. Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Diagnosing and Evaluating Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Global Spine J 2024:21925682241263792. [PMID: 38877604 DOI: 10.1177/21925682241263792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2024] Open
Abstract
STUDY DESIGN Systematic review. OBJECTIVE Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is a common spinal cord disorder necessitating surgery. We aim to explore how effectively diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can distinguish DCM from healthy individuals and assess the relationship between DTI metrics and symptom severity. METHODS We included studies with adult DCM patients who had not undergone decompressive surgery and implemented correlation analyses between DTI parameters and severity, or compared healthy controls and DCM patients. RESULTS 57 studies were included in our meta-analysis. At the maximal compression (MC) level, fractional anisotropy (FA) exhibited lower values in DCM patients, while apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), mean diffusivity (MD), and radial diffusivity (RD) were notably higher in the DCM group. Moreover, our investigation into the diagnostic utility of DTI parameters disclosed high sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve values for FA (.84, .80, .83 respectively) and ADC (.74, .84, .88 respectively). Additionally, we explored the correlation between DTI parameters and myelopathy severity, revealing a significant correlation of FA (.53, 95% CI:0.40 to .65) at MC level with JOA/mJOA scores. CONCLUSION Current guidelines for DCM suggest decompressive surgery for both mild and severe cases. However, they lack clear recommendations on which mild DCM patients might benefit from conservative treatment vs immediate surgery. ADC's role here could be pivotal, potentially differentiating between healthy individuals and DCM. While it may not correlate with symptom severity, it might predict surgical outcomes, making it a valuable imaging biomarker for clearer management decisions in mild DCM.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Faramarz Roohollahi
- Sports Medicine Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Yas Spine Center of Excellence, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Farzin Farahbakhsh
- Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Aynaz Mohammadi
- School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Samuel Berchi Kankam
- Image guided Neurosurgery Lab, Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Brain Trauma Lab, Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Azin Moarrefdezfouli
- Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Afshar Ghamari Khameneh
- Department of Radiology, Advanced Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology (ADIR) Research Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohamad Mahdi Mahmoudi
- Department of General Surgery, Shahid Mofateh Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Allan R Martin
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - James Harrop
- Department of Neurological and Orthopedic Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar
- Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
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Freund P, Boller V, Emmenegger TM, Akbar M, Hupp M, Pfender N, Wheeler-Kingshott CAMG, Cohen-Adad J, Fehlings MG, Curt A, Seif M. Quantifying neurodegeneration of the cervical cord and brain in degenerative cervical myelopathy: A multicentre study using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging. Eur J Neurol 2024:e16297. [PMID: 38713645 DOI: 10.1111/ene.16297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/09/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Simultaneous assessment of neurodegeneration in both the cervical cord and brain across multiple centres can enhance the effectiveness of clinical trials. Thus, this study aims to simultaneously assess microstructural changes in the cervical cord and brain above the stenosis in degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a multicentre study. METHODS We applied voxelwise analysis with a probabilistic brain/spinal cord template embedded in statistical parametric mappin (SPM-BSC) to process multi parametric mapping (MPM) including effective transverse relaxation rate (R2*), longitudinal relaxation rate (R1), and magnetization transfer (MT), which are indirectly sensitive to iron and myelin content. Regression analysis was conducted to establish associations between neurodegeneration and clinical impairment. Thirty-eight DCM patients (mean age ± SD = 58.45 ± 11.47 years) and 38 healthy controls (mean age ± SD = 41.18 ± 12.75 years) were recruited at University Hospital Balgrist, Switzerland and Toronto Western Hospital, Canada. RESULTS Remote atrophy was observed in the cervical cord (p = 0.002) and in the left thalamus (0.026) of the DCM group. R1 was decreased in the periaqueductal grey matter (p = 0.014), thalamus (p = 0.001), corpus callosum (p = 0.0001), and cranial corticospinal tract (p = 0.03). R2* was increased in the primary somatosensory cortices (p = 0.008). Sensory impairments were associated with increased iron-sensitive R2* in the thalamus and periaqueductal grey matter in DCM. CONCLUSIONS Simultaneous assessment of the spinal cord and brain revealed DCM-induced demyelination, iron deposition, and atrophy. The extent of remote neurodegeneration was associated with sensory impairment, highlighting the intricate and expansive nature of microstructural neurodegeneration in DCM, reaching beyond the stenosis level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Freund
- Spinal Cord Injury Centre, University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Viveka Boller
- Spinal Cord Injury Centre, University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tim M Emmenegger
- Spinal Cord Injury Centre, University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Muhammad Akbar
- Spine Program Division of Neurosurgery, University of Toronto and Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Markus Hupp
- Spinal Cord Injury Centre, University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Nikolai Pfender
- Spinal Cord Injury Centre, University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Claudia Angela Michela Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott
- NMR Research Unit, Queen Square MS Centre, University College London (UCL) Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Faculty of Brain Sciences, London, UK
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Digital Neuroscience Research Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Julien Cohen-Adad
- NeuroPoly Lab, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Functional Neuroimaging Unit, CRIUGM, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Michael G Fehlings
- Spine Program Division of Neurosurgery, University of Toronto and Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Armin Curt
- Spinal Cord Injury Centre, University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Maryam Seif
- Spinal Cord Injury Centre, University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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Singhal S, Saran S, Saxena S, Bhadoria AS, Grimm R. Role of diffusion kurtosis imaging in evaluating microstructural changes in spinal cord of patients with cervical spondylosis. EUROPEAN SPINE JOURNAL : OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE EUROPEAN SPINE SOCIETY, THE EUROPEAN SPINAL DEFORMITY SOCIETY, AND THE EUROPEAN SECTION OF THE CERVICAL SPINE RESEARCH SOCIETY 2023; 32:986-993. [PMID: 36738338 DOI: 10.1007/s00586-023-07559-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
STUDY DESIGN Analytical cross-sectional study. PURPOSE To study the role of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in evaluating microstructural changes in patients with cervical spondylosis. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE Cervical spondylosis is a common progressive degenerative disorder of the spine. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can only detect the changes in the spinal cord once there are visual signal changes; hence, it underestimates the extent of the injury. Newer imaging techniques like Diffusion Tensor and Kurtosis Imaging can evaluate the microstructural changes in cervical spinal cord before the obvious signal changes appear. METHODS Conventional MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and DKI scans were performed for 90 cervical spondylosis patients on 1.5-T MR Siemens Magnetom aera after obtaining informed consent. Eight patients were excluded due to poor image quality. Fractional anisotropy (FA) colour maps and diffusion kurtosis (DK) maps corresponding to spinal cord cross sections at C2-C3 intervertebral disc level (control) and at the most stenotic levels were obtained. Modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) scoring was used for clinical assessment of the spinal cord function. The changes in DTI and DKI parameters and their correlation with mJOA scores were analysed by SPSS 23 software. RESULTS In our study, mean FA and mean kurtosis (MK) values at the stenotic level (0.54, 1.02) were significantly lower than values at the non-stenotic segment (0.70, 1.27). The mean diffusivity (MD) value at the stenotic segment (1.25) was significantly higher than in the non-stenotic segment (1.09). We also observed a strong positive correlation between mJOA score and FA and MK values and a negative correlation between mJOA score and MD values, suggesting a correlation of FA, MK, and MD with the clinical severity of the disease. CONCLUSION Addition of DTI and DKI sequences helps in early identification of the disease without any additional cost incurred by the patient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shailvi Singhal
- Department of Radiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, 249203, India
| | - Sonal Saran
- Department of Radiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, 249203, India.
| | - Sudhir Saxena
- Department of Radiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, 249203, India
| | - Ajeet Singh Bhadoria
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, India
| | - Robert Grimm
- MR Application predevelopment, Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany
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Davies BM, Mowforth O, Gharooni AA, Tetreault L, Nouri A, Dhillon RS, Bednarik J, Martin AR, Young A, Takahashi H, Boerger TF, Newcombe VFJ, Zipser CM, Freund P, Koljonen PA, Rodrigues-Pinto R, Rahimi-Movaghar V, Wilson JR, Kurpad SN, Fehlings MG, Kwon BK, Harrop JS, Guest JD, Curt A, Kotter MRN. A New Framework for Investigating the Biological Basis of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy [AO Spine RECODE-DCM Research Priority Number 5]: Mechanical Stress, Vulnerability and Time. Global Spine J 2022; 12:78S-96S. [PMID: 35174728 PMCID: PMC8859710 DOI: 10.1177/21925682211057546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
STUDY DESIGN Literature Review (Narrative). OBJECTIVE To propose a new framework, to support the investigation and understanding of the pathobiology of DCM, AO Spine RECODE-DCM research priority number 5. METHODS Degenerative cervical myelopathy is a common and disabling spinal cord disorder. In this perspective, we review key knowledge gaps between the clinical phenotype and our biological models. We then propose a reappraisal of the key driving forces behind DCM and an individual's susceptibility, including the proposal of a new framework. RESULTS Present pathobiological and mechanistic knowledge does not adequately explain the disease phenotype; why only a subset of patients with visualized cord compression show clinical myelopathy, and the amount of cord compression only weakly correlates with disability. We propose that DCM is better represented as a function of several interacting mechanical forces, such as shear, tension and compression, alongside an individual's vulnerability to spinal cord injury, influenced by factors such as age, genetics, their cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and nervous system status, and time. CONCLUSION Understanding the disease pathobiology is a fundamental research priority. We believe a framework of mechanical stress, vulnerability, and time may better represent the disease as a whole. Whilst this remains theoretical, we hope that at the very least it will inspire new avenues of research that better encapsulate the full spectrum of disease.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Oliver Mowforth
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Lindsay Tetreault
- New York University, Langone Health, Graduate Medical Education, Department of Neurology, New York, NY, USA
| | - Aria Nouri
- Division of Neurosurgery, Geneva University Hospitals, University of Geneva, Genève, Switzerland
| | - Rana S. Dhillon
- Department of Neurosurgery, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Fitzroy, VIC, Australia
| | - Josef Bednarik
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Allan R. Martin
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Adam Young
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Hitoshi Takahashi
- Department of Pathology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan
| | - Timothy F. Boerger
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa, WI, USA
| | - Virginia FJ Newcombe
- Division of Anaesthesia, Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Carl Moritz Zipser
- University Spine Center, Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Patrick Freund
- University Spine Center, Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Paul Aarne Koljonen
- Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ricardo Rodrigues-Pinto
- Spinal Unit (UVM), Department of Orthopaedics, Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto - Hospital de Santo António, Porto, Portugal
- Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Porto, Portugal
| | - Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar
- Department of Neurosurgery, Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Jefferson R. Wilson
- Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Shekar N Kurpad
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa, WI, USA
| | - Michael G. Fehlings
- Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Brian K. Kwon
- Vancouver Spine Surgery Institute, Department of Orthopedics, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - James S. Harrop
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - James D. Guest
- Department of Neurosurgery and the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, The Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Armin Curt
- University Spine Center, Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
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Han X, Ma X, Li D, Wang J, Jiang W, Cheng X, Li G, Guo H, Tian W. The Evaluation and Prediction of Laminoplasty Surgery Outcome in Patients with Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy Using Diffusion Tensor MRI. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2020; 41:1745-1753. [PMID: 32816762 DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.a6705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE DTI has been proved valuable for the diagnosis of degenerative cervical myelopathy, whereas its capacity for predicting the outcome of surgery is still under debate. Here we conduct a prospective cohort study to analyze the capacity of DTI for evaluating and predicting laminoplasty surgery outcome for degenerative cervical myelopathy. MATERIALS AND METHODS We recruited 55 patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy who underwent DTI before surgery and at 3- and 6-month follow-up stages, and 20 healthy subjects. For clinical assessment, the modified Japanese Orthopedic Association scale was recorded for each patient at different stages. DTI metrics were compared between patients before surgery and healthy subjects. Spearman correlation and receiver operating characteristic were used to analyze the evaluation and prediction capacity of DTI for the modified Japanese Orthopedic Association scale, respectively. We analyzed different vertebral levels: maximal compression level, average of all compression levels, and C2 level. RESULTS DTI metrics were significantly different between patients before surgery and healthy subjects. Before surgery, DTI for the maximal compression level or DTI for the average of all compression levels had no significant correlation with the modified Japanese Orthopedic Association scale. For all stages, DTI at the C2 level was correlated with the modified Japanese Orthopedic Association scale. DTI metrics at the C2 level before surgery were significantly correlated with the postoperative modified Japanese Orthopedic Association scale recovery rate. Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated that fractional anisotropy at C2 was capable of predicting the postoperative modified Japanese Orthopedic Association scale recovery rate (P = .04). CONCLUSIONS The DTI metrics before laminoplasty surgery, especially fractional anisotropy at the C2 level, have the potential for evaluating and predicting the degenerative cervical myelopathy surgery outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- X Han
- From the Department of Spine Surgery (X.H., D.L., J.W., W.T.), Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Beijing, China.,Beijing Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedics (X.H.), Beijing, China
| | - X Ma
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (X.M.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - D Li
- From the Department of Spine Surgery (X.H., D.L., J.W., W.T.), Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Beijing, China.,National Center of Gerontology (D.L.), Beijing, China
| | - J Wang
- From the Department of Spine Surgery (X.H., D.L., J.W., W.T.), Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - W Jiang
- Department of Radiology (W.J., X.C., G.L.), Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - X Cheng
- Department of Radiology (W.J., X.C., G.L.), Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - G Li
- Department of Radiology (W.J., X.C., G.L.), Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - H Guo
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research (H.F.), Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - W Tian
- From the Department of Spine Surgery (X.H., D.L., J.W., W.T.), Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Beijing, China
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