Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Clivus and Its Age-Related Changes in the Bone Marrow

Abstract

BackgroundThe clivus is a bone region between dorsum cella and foramen magnum. It can be evaluated very clearly in routine brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) dueto its central location.ObjectivesQuantitative and qualitative evaluation of the clivus and its changes according to age in a group of healthy people.Patients and MethodsThe transition of clival bone marrow to fatty marrow by the increasein age is examined by MRI in 105 men and 105 women who had no clival and bone marrow pathology on MRI. The clivus/pons, clivus/CSF intensity values and clival bone marrow imaging patterns according to age groups were prospectively evaluated using a 1.5 Tesla MR device.ResultsWhen age groups were individually compared, there were meaningful statistical differences both in men and women in terms of clivus/CSF and clivus/pons intensity ratios (both Ps < 0.05). Clivus/pons and clivus/CSF intensity ratios were found to be increased with age in all cases. The distribution of age groups according to stages in all individuals was statistically meaningful (P < 0.05). When the appearance patterns of both genders in every ten-fold age were examined, stage III bone marrow was observed more in elder ages.ConclusionsAs a result, besides the fact that standard ranges determined for clivus/CSF, clivus/pons intensity ratios according to age may be used in the assessment of potential pathological cases involving bone marrow; they can also be leading in the diagnosis of bone marrow diseases when taken into consideration together with clinical and laboratory data.

Bone marrow magnetic resonance imaging of the clivus in pediatric leukemia patients and normal controls

“…A uniformly high SI appeared in subjects after the age of 2 years and represented the majority at ages >15 years. Olcu et al [20] reported that the clivus/pons ratio on T1WI (CPR T1WI in our study) in normal children was about 1.0 (0.91-1.24) and increased with age. This finding is consistent with our results in normal subjects.…”

“…Age-related changes in SI on T1WI, which reflects the conversion from red to yellow marrow during growth, have been reported in clival bone marrow [10,[17][18][19][20]. The clivus showed a uniformly low SI in most infants under 1 year of age; the fractions of cases with a low SI decreased to 10 % in children aged 3-4 years and to 0 % in 6-year-olds [17].…”

Fossa navicularis in a pediatric patient: anatomical skull base variant with clinical implications

“…This is referred to as "stage I" clivus bone marrow as opposed to stage II (intermediate stage with fatty infiltration of the marrow and the clivus has a heterogeneous appearance) or stage III (hypoactive marrow with a homogeneous hypoactive clivus). Olcu et al 10 found in their study that the stage III features were not noted in the age group of 0-9 years. In cases in which unexpected MRI clival changes are noted, as was the case with our patient, there is most likely an underlying pathology.…”

“…The MRI features of bone marrow in the clivus have been seen to vary with age. 7,10,11 In childhood, the bone marrow is rich in hematopoietic tissue and the clivus is homogeneously hypointense. This is referred to as "stage I" clivus bone marrow as opposed to stage II (intermediate stage with fatty infiltration of the marrow and the clivus has a heterogeneous appearance) or stage III (hypoactive marrow with a homogeneous hypoactive clivus).…”

Forensic medical determination of the age based on the analysis of CT-scanograms of the skull and the craniovertebral region in the sagittal projection

“…Существует множество различных критериев установления возраста, но ни один из них вне связи с другими не может быть достаточно надежным при установлении возраста взрослых людей, так как они зави-сят от многих факторов, определяющих их высокую изменчивость [1,2]. Вопросы возрастной изменчивости турецкого седла [3,4] ската черепа (Блюменбахов скат) [5][6][7][8], размеров и взаиморасположение лобных [9,10] и клиновидной пазух, а также качественной оценки срединного атлантоосевого сустава (сустав Крювелье) остаются открытыми. В источниках литературы даны сведения об исследовании отдельных признаков, которые сгруппированы в самые различные возрастные группы, как правило, до 40-50 лет.…”