Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31980925›Full record

ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2020

Age-related changes to the craniocervical ligaments in asymptomatic subjects: a prospective MR study.

Benjamin Peters, Paul M Parizel, Johan W Van Goethem

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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, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Demonstration of transverse ligament on 3D SPACE MRI in whiplash-associated disorder and nontraumatic conditions.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 · 2024
    Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Benjamin PetersDepartment of Radiology, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. Benjamin.Peters@jessazh.be.ORCID 0000-0002-7542-6271
Paul M ParizelDepartment of Radiology, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Johan W Van GoethemDepartment of Radiology, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
University of Antwerp · BE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe craniocervical junction (CCJ) is a complex of bony and ligamentous structure stabilizing CCJ. Nearly one-third of all traumatic injuries to the cervical spine involve the CCJ. Only little literature is available on this topic, and most of the studies are focused on anatomy, biomechanics or ligamentous injury in whiplash-associated disorders. We conducted a prospective study to investigate age-related changes in the craniocervical ligaments.

methodsWe included asymptomatic volunteers between 16 and 99 years old who had no history of whiplash or other cervical trauma. Volunteers underwent a three-dimensional turbo spin-echo proton density-weighted sequence with variable flip-angle distribution focused on the craniocervical ligaments. The six main ligaments of the craniocervical junction were evaluated for grade of degeneration on a four-point scale by two independent readers, blinded for age and sex.

resultsWe included 102 volunteers. The mean age was 50.03 (16-94). Fifty-nine (58%) patients showed degeneration of at least one ligament of the CCJ. High-grade anomalous changes and multiligamentous involvement had a positive correlation with age (p < 0.001). The inter-rater agreement was fair to moderate, and the intra-rater agreement was moderate to substantial.

conclusionThe craniocervical ligaments show a variable degree of signal intensity and thickness in asymptomatic adults. We postulate that these changes can be due to normal aging or due to repetitive microtrauma. We propose a new grading system to evaluate changes to the craniocervical ligaments in asymptomatic volunteers. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.

Indexed as

Magnetic Resonance ImagingWhiplash InjuriesAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCervical VertebraeHumansLigamentsMiddle AgedProspective StudiesYoung AdultAge-relatedCraniocervical ligamentsDegenerationGrading systemMRProspective studyWhiplash-associated disorders

Identifiers

PMID31980925
OpenAlexW3002516837

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.