3.

T2 relaxometry detected gradual IVD dehydration in the first two decades of adulthood. We observed no significant variation of T1ρ or volumetry with aging in our study group. Our results suggest that T2 mapping may be more appropriate to detect early IVD aging changes.

Fat infiltration and atrophy of lumbar muscles are related to spinal degenerative conditions and may cause functional deficits. Spinal alignment exerts biomechanical influence on lumbar intervertebral discs and joints. Our objective was to evaluate if spinopelvic parameters correlate with the lumbar muscle volume and fat infiltration. This is an observational, prospective and cross-sectional study. Ninety-three asymptomatic adult aged 20–40 years were included. Lumbar lordosis (LL), thoracic kyphosis (TK), pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), sacral slope (SS), thoracolumbar alignment (TL), sagittal vertical axis (SVA), C2-pelvic angle (CPA), spinosacral angle (SSA), lack of lordosis (PI-LL), L1S1 and T1S1 length were measured on panoramic spine radiographs. Lumbar axial T1-weighted and In- and Out-Phase images were obtained on 1.5T MRI scanner and were used to extract the muscle volumes and fat fractions of multifidus, erector spinae, and psoas. All muscle volumes were higher in men than women (p<0.05). The fat fraction was higher in the multifidus and erector spinae in women (p<0.05). Multifidus volume was weakly correlated with PT (R = 0.22), PI (R = 0.22), LL (R = 0.34) and CPA (R = 0.29). Erectors spinae volume were correlated with CPA (R = 0.21). Psoas volume correlated with TK (R = 0.21), TL (R = 0.27) and SVA (R = -0.23). The lumbar muscle volumes showed a moderated correlation with T1S1 length (R = 0.55 to 0.62). Spinopelvic parameters showed correlation with lumbar muscle volumes but not with muscle fat infiltration on asymptomatic young adults.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Intervertebral disk biochemical composition could be accessed in vivo by T1 and T2 relaxometry. We found no studies in the literature comparing different segmentation methods for data extraction using these techniques. Our aim was to compare different manual segmentation methods used to extract T1 and T2 relaxation times of intervertebral disks from MR imaging. Seven different methods of partial-disk segmentation techniques were compared with whole-disk segmentation as the reference standard.

Sagittal balance describes the optimal alignment of the spine in the sagittal plane, resulting from the interaction between the spine and lower limbs, via the pelvis. Understanding sagittal balance has gained importance, especially in the last decade, because sagittal imbalance correlates directly with disability and pain. Diseases that alter that balance cause sagittal malalignment and may trigger compensatory mechanisms. Certain radiographic parameters have been shown to be clinically relevant and to correlate with clinical scores in the evaluation of spinopelvic alignment. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of the literature on the spinopelvic parameters that are most relevant in clinical practice, as well as to describe compensatory mechanisms of the pelvis and lower limbs.