ArticleSpine2013
Disc degeneration assessed by quantitative T2* (T2 star) correlated with functional lumbar mechanics.
Article in Spine, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 52 papers.
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Who cites it
52 citing papers in PubMed, 86 citations in OpenAlex.
- Intervertebral Disc Elastography to Relate Shear Modulus and Relaxometry in Compression and Bending.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
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- Intervertebral disc degeneration.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2026Review
- Early intervertebral degeneration patterns among elite amateur golfers: A T2∗ mapping study.Brain & spine · 2026Article
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- Contemporary clinical perspectives on chronic low back pain: The biology, mechanics, etc. underpinning clinical and radiological evaluation.JOR spine · 2025Article
- In vivo kinematic study of lumbar center of rotation under different loads.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Article
- The advancement and utility of multimodal imaging in the diagnosis of degenerative disc disease.Frontiers in radiology · 2025Review
- Sociodemographic Influences on Lumbar Disc Degeneration Severity and the Diagnostic Potential of Disc‑CSF Signal Ratio: Insights from a South East Asia Population Study.Journal of the Belgian Society of Radiology · 2025Article
- Automated magnetic resonance imaging-based grading of the lumbar intervertebral disc and facet joints.JOR spine · 2024Article
- Can axial loading restore in vivo disc geometry, opening pressure, and T2 relaxation time?JOR spine · 2024Article
- Passive intervertebral restraint is different in patients with treatment-resistant chronic nonspecific low back pain: a retrospective cohort study and control comparison.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2024Article
- Prevalence, distribution characteristic and risk factors of lumbar vertebral axial rotation in patients with lumbar disc herniation: a retrospective study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Morphological alterations of lumbar intervertebral discs in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society · 2024Article
- Multi-frame biomechanical and relaxometry analysis during in vivo loading of the human knee by spiral dualMRI and compressed sensing.Magnetic resonance in medicine · 2023Article
- Macrophages and Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Lumbar Intervertebral Disc and Discovertebral Segment, Part 1: An Imaging Review of Normal Anatomy.Cureus · 2022Article
- Patterns of Intervertebral Disk Alteration in Asymptomatic Elite Rowers: A T2* MRI Mapping Study.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2022Article
- Changes in T2 Relaxation Time Mapping of Intervertebral Discs Adjacent to Vertebrae after Kyphoplasty Correlate with the Physical Clinical Outcome of Patients.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
STUDY
designExperimental correlation study design to quantify features of disc health, including signal intensity and distinction between the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus, with T2* magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and correlate with the functional mechanics in corresponding motion segments.
objectiveEstablish the relationship between disc health assessed by quantitative T2* MRI and functional lumbar mechanics. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Degeneration leads to altered biochemistry in the disc, affecting the mechanical competence. Clinical routine MRI sequences are not adequate in detecting early changes in degeneration and fails to correlate with pain or improve patient stratification. Quantitative T2* relaxation time mapping probes biochemical features and may offer more sensitivity in assessing disc degeneration.
methodsCadaveric lumbar spines were imaged using quantitative T2* mapping, as well as conventional T2-weighted MRI sequences. Discs were graded by the Pfirrmann scale, and features of disc health, including signal intensity (T2* intensity area) and distinction between the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus (transition zone slope), were quantified by T2*. Each motion segment was subjected to pure moment bending to determine range of motion (ROM), neutral zone (NZ), and bending stiffness.
resultsT2* intensity area and transition zone slope were significantly correlated with flexion ROM (P = 0.015; P = 0.002), ratio of NZ/ROM (P = 0.010; P = 0.028), and stiffness (P = 0.044; P = 0.026), as well as lateral bending NZ/ROM (P = 0.005; P = 0.010) and stiffness (P = 0.022; P = 0.029). T2* intensity area was also correlated with lateral bending ROM (P = 0.023). Pfirrmann grade was only correlated with lateral bending NZ/ROM (P = 0.001) and stiffness (P = 0.007).
conclusionT2* mapping is a sensitive quantitative method capable of detecting changes associated with disc degeneration. Features of disc health quantified with T2* predicted altered functional mechanics of the lumbar spine better than traditional Pfirrmann grading. This new methodology and analysis technique may enhance the assessment of degeneration and enable greater patient stratification for therapeutic strategies. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: N/A.
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