SynthesisNeurosurgical review2026
Demyelination in degenerative cervical myelopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of autopsy and imaging studies.
Synthesis in Neurosurgical review, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDegenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is the leading cause of spinal cord dysfunction in adults, marked by progressive neurological deficits in spinal compression. The pathophysiology is driven by chronic spinal cord injury, yet the role of demyelination is not well defined. This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses the prevalence of demyelination in DCM and its relation to clinical measures.
methodsA literature search was conducted across MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Studies reporting demyelination in DCM through autopsy, histopathology, or spinal cord imaging were included. Data were extracted and analyzed using random-effects meta-analysis.
resultsTwenty-seven studies (364 DCM patients) were included. The GLMM random-effects model across 16 autopsy studies (n = 85) yielded an exploratory pooled proportion of 75.2% (95% CI: 16.8-97.6). In DCM patients, magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) was significantly reduced in the ventral column, the dorsal column, and the whole cord. The reduction was greatest in the ventral column (pooled MD = - 5.88, 95% CI: -9.00 to - 2.77, p = 0.0002).Meta-analysis of five independent studies demonstrated a significant positive correlation between MTR and baseline neurological function (pooled r = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.14-0.57).
conclusionDemyelination is a prominent histopathological feature of DCM. Comparison of autopsy and imaging studies generates a conceptual hypothesis of ventral-to-dorsolateral spatiotemporal disease progression that has not been directly demonstrated and requires prospective longitudinal validation. MTR is significantly and positively associated with baseline clinical severity, supporting its potential role as a myelin-sensitive biomarker in DCM. Additional research is warranted to define the progression of demyelination in DCM and guide the development of targeted therapeutic interventions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42714693What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.