Charting Cervical Spinal Cord Morphometry Across the Lifespan

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Human Anatomy
• Developmental Neuroscience

Background:

• Spinal cord morphometry is crucial for neurological health assessment.
• Clinical interpretation is limited by inter-subject variability and lack of lifespan normative data.
• Existing data lacks comprehensive, age- and sex-specific references across the human lifespan.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create the first comprehensive lifespan charts for cervical spinal cord morphometry.
• To establish normative references for spinal cord dimensions and shape across all ages (0-100).
• To provide a tool for differentiating typical variations from pathological changes in spinal cord MRI.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 30 population-based MRI datasets (78,269 scans, 41,042 individuals, ages 0-100).
• Employed a contrast-agnostic deep learning method for segmenting cervical spinal cord (C1-C7).
• Extracted morphometric measures (CSA, AP/RL dimensions, shape indices) and modeled normative trajectories using GAMLSS.

Main Results:

• Generated non-linear lifespan trajectories for cervical spinal cord morphometry.
• Identified peak maturation in early-to-mid adulthood (e.g., CSA in mid-30s), followed by gradual decreases.
• Quantified significant regional variations, sex differences (males > females for size), and coupling with brain development/aging.

Conclusions:

• The developed lifespan charts provide a robust normative framework for spinal cord morphometry.
• Enables age- and sex-specific centile scoring, enhancing clinical interpretation of spinal cord MRI.
• Offers a critical resource for research in neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration.