ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2019
The importance of level stratification for quantitative MR studies of lumbar intervertebral discs: a cross-sectional analysis in 101 healthy adults.
Article in 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, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Advances in mechanical assessments of in vivo human lumbar spine tissues with noninvasive imaging techniques.npj biomedical innovations · 2026Review
- Effective disc age: a statistical model for age-dependent and level-specific lumbar disc degeneration using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).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 · 2025Article
- Decoding Macrophage Subtypes to Engineer Modulating Hydrogels for the Alleviation of Intervertebral Disk Degeneration.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Quantitative assessment of the lumbar intervertebral disc via T2 shows excellent long-term reliability.PloS one · 2021Article
- Variability of T2-Relaxation Times of Healthy Lumbar Intervertebral Discs is More Homogeneous within an Individual Than across Healthy Individuals.AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology · 2020Article
- Gene-Hydrogel Microenvironment Regulates Extracellular Matrix Metabolism Balance in Nucleus Pulposus.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeTo investigate whether quantitative T2-times depend on lumbar intervertebral disc (IVD) level.
methodsThe lumbar spine (Th12/L1-L5/S1) of 101 participants (53.5% female, 30.0[± 3.6]years, 173.5[± 9.6]cm and 69.9[± 13.4]kg), without history of back pain, was examined on a 3T scanner with sagittal T2-mapping. All IVDs were stratified according to Pfirrmann grade and lumbar level, with mean T2-time determined for the entire IVD volume and in five subregions of interests.
resultsSignificant level-dependent T2-time differences were detected, both for the entire IVD volume and its subregions. For the entire IVD volume, Pfirrmann grade 2 IVDs displayed 9-18% higher T2-times in Th12/L1 IVDs compared to L2/L3-L5/S1 IVDs (0.001 > p < 0.004) and significantly different T2-times in L1/L2-L2/L3 IVDs compared to most of the IVDs in the lower lumbar spine. In Pfirrmann grades 1, 3 and 4 IVDs, no significant level-dependent T2-time differences were observed for the entire IVD. More pronounced results were observed when comparing IVD subregions, with significant level-dependent differences also within Pfirrmann grade 1 and grade 3 IVDs. For example, in posterior IVD subregions mean T2-time was 80-82% higher in Th12/L1 compared to L3/L4-L4/L5 Pfirrmann grade 1 IVDs (p < 0.05) and 10-14% higher in L5/S1 compared to L3/L4-L4/L5 Pfirrmann grade 3 IVDs (0.02 > p < 0.001). DISCUSSION: Significant level-dependent T2-time differences within several Pfirrmann grades, both for the entire IVD volume and for multiple IVD subregions, were shown in this large cohort study. The T2-time differences between levels existed in both non-degenerated and degenerated IVDs. These findings show the importance of stratifying for lumbar level when quantitative IVD studies are performed using T2-mapping. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
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