1.Usefulness of Simultaneous Magnetic Resonance Neurography and Apparent T2 Mapping for the Diagnosis of Cervical Radiculopathy
Keigo ENOMOTO ; Yawara EGUCHI ; Takashi SATO ; Masaki NORIMOTO ; Masahiro INOUE ; Atsuya WATANABE ; Takayuki SAKAI ; Masami YONEYAMA ; Yasuchika AOKI ; Sumihisa ORITA ; Miyako NARITA ; Kazuhide INAGE ; Yasuhiro SHIGA ; Tomotaka UMIMURA ; Masashi SATO ; Masahiro SUZUKI ; Hiromitsu TAKAOKA ; Norichika MIZUKI ; Geundong KIM ; Takashi HOZUMI ; Naoya HIROSAWA ; Takeo FURUYA ; Satoshi MAKI ; Junichi NAKAMURA ; Shigeo HAGIWARA ; Masao KODA ; Tsutomu AKAZAWA ; Hiroshi TAKAHASHI ; Kazuhisa TAKAHASHI ; Seiji OHTORI
Asian Spine Journal 2022;16(1):47-55
Methods:
A total of 14 patients with unilateral radicular symptoms and five healthy subjects were subjected to simultaneous apparent T2 mapping and neurography with nerve-sheath signal increased with inked rest-tissue rapid acquisition of relaxation enhancement signaling (SHINKEI-Quant) using a 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score for neck pain and upper arm pain was used to evaluate clinical symptoms. T2 relaxation times of the cervical dorsal root ganglia of the brachial plexus were measured bilaterally from C4 to C8 in patients with radicular symptoms and from C5 to C8 in healthy controls. The T2 ratio was calculated as the affected side to unaffected side.
Results:
When comparing nerve roots bilaterally at each spinal level, no significant differences in T2 relaxation times were found between patients and healthy subjects. However, T2 relaxation times of nerve roots in the patients with unilateral radicular symptoms were significantly prolonged on the involved side compared with the uninvolved side (p<0.05). The VAS score for upper arm pain was not significantly correlated with the T2 relaxation times, but was positively correlated with the T2 ratio.
Conclusions
In patients with cervical radiculopathy, the SHINKEI-Quant technique can be used to quantitatively evaluate the compressed cervical nerve roots. The VAS score for upper arm pain was positively correlated with the T2 ratio. This suggests that the SHINKEI-Quant is a potential tool for the diagnosis of cervical nerve entrapment.
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