RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Assessment of extradural degenerative disease with Gd-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging: correlation with surgical and pathologic findings.
JF American Journal of Neuroradiology
JO Am. J. Neuroradiol.
FD American Society of Neuroradiology
SP 1243
OP 1249
VO 10
IS 6
A1 J S Ross
A1 M T Modic
A1 T J Masaryk
A1 J Carter
A1 R E Marcus
A1 H Bohlman
YR 1989
UL http://www.ajnr.org/content/10/6/1243.abstract
AB To test whether gadolinium-DTPA-enhanced MR would increase the conspicuity of extradural degenerative disease in the previously unoperated patient, we prospectively studied a group of 30 patients with symptoms suggestive of disk disease. Surgical findings and pathologic correlations were used as an objective measure of accuracy. Gadolinium-DTPA increased the confidence of diagnosis at one of eight operated cervical levels (six patients) and changed the diagnosis from extradural degenerative disease to tumor in one patient. The mechanism of enhancement of the epidural space and peridiskal region appears to be related to accumulation of contrast material within the epidural venous plexus, as well as to epidural fibrosis associated with disk disruption and herniation. While the immediate clinical utility of gadolinium-DTPA for morphologic analysis seems limited to difficult cervical spine cases, the presence of enhancement as a marker of epidural fibrosis and attempted healing may prove to be of great importance in studying the natural history and basic pathophysiology of degenerative disk disease.