MRS in quantitative assessment of lumbar discs degeneration / 中国医学影像技术

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the value of MRS in quantitative assessment of degeneration of lumbar discs.Methods Totally 82 patients with lumbago underwent lumbar MR scanning.All the discs were classified with Pfirrmann grades in the sequences of sagittal T2WI.The area under N-acetyl peak,under water peak and the ratio of N-acetyl/Water were measured by MRS.Correlation between MRS values and Pfirrmann grade,age were analyzed.Results In 82 patients,204 lumbar discs were measured by MRS.There were 89,73,39,3 discs in Pfirrmann Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ,V respectively.The areas of N-acetyl,water peak and N-acetyl/Water ratio of nucleus region were positively correlated with Pfirrmann grading,respectively (rs =-0.460,-0.204,-0.526,all P＜0.05).There were 62,25,37,51,29 discs in patients aged ＜30,30-39,40-49,50-59,＞59 years respectively.The ares of N-acetyl peak,N-acetyl/Water ratio of nucleus region was negatively correlated with the age (rs=-0.247,-0.385,both P＜0.05).Conclusion MRS can be used for quantitative assessment of lumbar discs degeneration.