Authors: Yawara Eguchi Seiji Ohtori Masaomi Yamashita Kazuyo Yamauchi Munetaka Suzuki Sumihisa Orita Hiroto Kamoda Gen Arai Tetsuhiro Ishikawa Masayuki Miyagi Nobuyasu Ochiai Shunji Kishida Gen Inoue Yoshitada Masuda Shigehiro Ochi Takashi Kikawa Tomoaki Toyone Masashi Takaso Yasuchika Aoki Kazuhisa Takahashi
Publish Date: 2010/11/16
Volume: 53, Issue: 9, Pages: 633-641
Abstract
Diffusionweighted imaging DWI can provide valuable structural information that may be useful for evaluating pathological changes of the lumbar nerve root Diffusionweighted magnetic resonance MR neurography has recently been introduced as an alternative way to visualize nerves but to date quantitative DWI and MR neurography have not been applied to evaluate the pathology of lumbar nerve rootsOur purpose was to visualize lumbar nerve roots and to analyze their morphology by MR neurography and to measure the apparent diffusion coefficient ADC of lumbar nerve roots compressed by herniated disks using 15T MR imaging Ten consecutive patients median age 480 and range 20–72 years with monoradicular symptoms caused by a lumbar herniated disk and 14 healthy volunteers were studied Regions of interests were placed on the lumbar roots at dorsal root ganglia DRG and distal spinal nerves on DWI to quantify mean ADC values The spinal nerve roots were also visualized by MR neurographyIn the patients mean ADC values were significantly greater in the compressed DRG and distal spinal nerves than in intact nerves MR neurography also showed abnormalities such as nerve swelling at and below the compression in the symptomatic nerve root Increased ADC values were considered to be because of edema and Wallerian degeneration of compressed nerve roots
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