Diffusion tensor imaging for evaluation of lumbar intervertebral discs in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a preliminary prospective study

Abstract

Aim To prospectively evaluate the degeneration of intervertebral discs (IVDs) in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Materials and methods Forty-three AIS patients and 12 healthy volunteers (HC) underwent 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including DTI sequences. The mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values of lumbar IVDs were obtained and compared between HC and AIS patients with two independent samples t-tests. Further analyses were done and focused on degenerative and non-degenerative discs and different lumbar segmental with two independent samples t-tests. Results The MD and FA values of IVDs in AIS patients differed significantly with healthy controls (MD: 1.25±0.17 versus 1.56±0.23×10−3 mm2/s, p Conclusion DTI demonstrated degeneration of lumbar IVDs in AIS patients even without visible signs on T2-weighted images, and L4–5 IVDs were more prone to degenerate. DTI could serve as a sensitive technique to evaluate the degeneration of IVDs in AIS patients non-invasively and quantitatively.