Evaluation of diffusion tensor imaging in foraminal cervical nerve and fiber bundle reconstruction in patients with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy
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Updated: May 15, 2025
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Chronic Spinal Cord Compression
Published on: May 7, 2019
Bingxuan Li1, Yunxin Su2, Miao Zhang3
1The Department of Radiation Physics, Qingdao Central Hospital, University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Qingdao, 266042, China.
Purpose:
To quantitatively evaluate the compressed nerve in patients with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR) by MR diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and diffusion tensor tractography (DTT).
Materials And Methods:
DTI and DTT were performed in 60 patients and 20 volunteers with a 3.0-T MR. The resultant fractional anisotropy (FA) values and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values for C5-C7 cervical nerve roots were calculated at three sub-regions and DTT was also performed on C5-C7 nerve roots. Assessment of sensory and motor function in patients was undertaken using modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) scoring system.
Results:
The FA values were significantly lower at the symptomatic side than those at the asymptomatic side (p < 0.05). The mJOA score was correlated with the FA values significantly of the compressed nerves at proximal sub-region (R2 = 0.393, p < 0.001). ROC curve analysis revealed that FA values could identify nerve root compression at three sub-regions. DTT could visually display the abnormalities of compressed nerve roots, including the decreased of FA values, twisted, sparse, or interrupted nerve roots in patients with CSR.
Conclusion:
MR DTI and DTT provided effective means for quantitatively evaluating the compressed nerve in patients with CSR.
