Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine: frequency of degenerative changes in the intervertebral disc with relation to age

To ascertain the level at which intervertebral disc degeneration of the cervical spine most commonly occurs in each decade from 20-79 years.

Using computer analysis, we retrospectively assessed the mean signal intensity from each cervical disc from T2-weighted spin-echo images in 60 symptomatic patients (10 per decade from the third to eighth inclusive).

Age, disc level and interaction between age and level were highly significant predictors for the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) mean signal intensity from intervertebral discs (p<0.0001 for all three terms). The MRI signals were generally lower as age increased and also for the higher discs (C2-C3, etc).

In our study we have shown that in younger patients the higher discs are more frequently affected by degeneration than the lower ones. As age increases, the process of degeneration becomes more generalized with less variability between discs.