Development of MR Imaging for Degenerative Disc Disease

描述（由申请人提供）：目前的临床影像学技术，包括x线摄影和计算机断层扫描（CT），不能检测椎间盘的早期生化退行性改变。然而，磁共振成像（MRI）具有诊断早期椎间盘退变（IVDD）的潜力。通过识别IVDD早期发生的生化变化，MRI可以在不可逆的形态变性发生之前检测到IVDD。最近的研究表明，T1rho弛豫时间与大分子的损失有关（这是IVDD的一个起始因素）。本提案的目的是开发一种量化椎间盘T1rho松弛时间的成像技术，并利用该方法研究不同程度椎间盘退变的人类受试者的IVDD。T1rho的敏感性将通过评估椎间盘标本中T1rho与胶原蛋白和蛋白聚糖含量之间的关系来研究。这些研究将有助于发现椎间盘退变早期阶段的标准的发展，并将促进对MR松弛参数如何与疾病生化变化相关的整体理解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Current clinical imaging techniques, including radiography and computed tomography (CT), cannot detect early biochemical degenerative changes in the intervertebral disc. However, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has the potential for diagnosis of early intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). By identifying biochemical changes that occur in the early stages of IVDD, MRI may enable the detection of IVDD before irreversible morphologic degeneration occurs. Recent studies have proposed that T1rho relaxation time is associated with loss of macromolecules (which is an initiating factor in IVDD). The objective of this proposal is to develop an imaging technique for quantifying T1rho relaxation time in the intervertebral disc, and to utilize this method to investigate IVDD in human subjects with different degrees of disc degeneration. The sensitivity of T1rho will be investigated by evaluating the relationship between T1rho in intervertebral disc specimens and collagen and proteoglycan content. These studies will contribute to the development of a criterion for detecting early stages of disc degeneration, and will advance the overall understanding of how MR relaxation parameters relate to biochemical changes in disease.