Age- Related Contrast Enhancement Study of Normal Bone Marrow in Lumbar Spinal MR Imaging

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of contrast enhancement of normal bone marrow in L-spine relating to aging and to determine the range of contrast enhancement in normal bone marrow. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We analyzed a total of 120 patients (20 per decade) who had undergone lumbar spinal MRI and who ranged in age from the 2nd decade to more than the 7th. Bone marrow revealed no abonormal pathology. Sagittal T1-weighted spin echo sequences were obtained before and after gadolinium administration. For each sequence, a region of interest was drawn within the L1 vertebral body from the midsagittal slice. Signal intensity (SI) values of each sequence were ascertained and the percentage increase in SI was calculated . RESULTS: After contrast enhancement, lumbar MRI revealed no statistically significant in the percentage increase in SI of normal bone marrow in relation to aging. Most patients (99 %) however showed an SI increase of between 10 % and 49 %. In only four, none of whom were aged over 40, was this increase above 50%. CONCLUSION: Lumbar MRI, revealed no statistically significant difference in percentage increase in SI in normal bone marrow relating to aging, but when the increase is above 50 % in a patient aged over 40, bone marrow pathology should be further investigated.