Objective To evaluate the value of diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)to appraise the early degeneration of the lum-bar intervertebral discs(IVDs)in female adolescent idiopathic scoliosis with major thoracolumbar curve.Methods Thirty-eight female AIS patients and twenty healthy volunteers(HVs)matched in the gender and age underwent 3T magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)including conventional MRI and DTI sequences.According to T2WI,AIS patients were divided into two groups:One which included L1-S1 lumbar IVDs did not occur any deterioration(Pfirrmann Ⅰ),and another included deterioration of any segments(grade higher than Pfirrmann Ⅰ).The fractional anisotropy(FA)and mean diffusion rate(MD)values of lumbar IVDs were measured and compared between AIS patients and HVs with ANOVA analysis and followed by LSD t-tests.Further analyses were done on the different lumbar segmental with ANOVA analysis and LSD t-tests.Results MD value of the lumbar IVDs in AIS degeneration group was significantly lower than that in the non-degenerative group(P<0.05),while FA value of lumbar IVDs in AIS degeneration group was significantly higher than that in the non-degenerative group(P<0.05).The MD value of the lumbar IVDs in AIS group was significantly lower than that in HVs group(P<0.05),while,FA value of lumbar IVDs in AIS group was significantly higher than that in HVs group(P<0.05).The MD and FA values of L1/2,L2/3,and L3/4 IVDs in AIS degeneration group were significantly different from L4/5 and L5/S1 IVDs,respectively(P<0.05).Conclusion The early degeneration of lumbar IVDs can be demonstrated by FA and MD values in AIS patients even without visible changes on T2-weighted images.DTI can be used as a sensitively noninvasive technique to quantitatively evaluate the degeneration of IVDs in AIS patients.
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