Objective This study examined annulus fibrosus morphology and integrity by measuring the apparent diffu-sion coefficient(ADC)and fractional anisotropy(FA)using DTI and by discography.Methods This retrospective case-control study enrolled 30 continuous patients with recurrent low back pain(LBP)confirmed by discography and 24 healthy control(HC)volunteers.The ADC and FA values at the posterior margin of the annulus fibrosus were measured u-sing a conventional lumbar MR sequence and axial DTI of the L3-S1 levels(3.0-T).The intervertebral discogenic low back pain segment was identified by discography.The ADC and FA values were measured at the posterior margin of the an-nulus fibrosus of the segment in the experimental group and at the L3-S1 level in the control group.Differences in ADC,FA,λ1,λ2 and λ3 values were compared between the two groups.Results Thirty participants(58±6 years,16 women)were in the LBP group(case),twenty-four(54±6 years,12 women)were in the HC group(control).No significant differ-ences were found in demographic parameters or the areas of region of interest(ROI)measured manually between the two groups.The ADC value of ROI in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group(LBP:9.84±4.01;HC:6.10±3.17;P＜0.001),while the FA value was lower than that in the control group(LBP:0.231±0.150;HC:0.341±0.201;P＜0.007).Conclusion 3.0-T magnetic resonance DTI was useful in the clinical assessment of disco-genic low back pain.
Diffusion tensor imagingDiscogenic low back painAnnulus fibrosusDiscography
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