MR Myelography in Degenerative Spinal Disease

This study aimed to establish the possible role of magnetic resonance myelography in degenerative spinal disease. A high magnetic field strength MR system is required for this technique with a high slew rate and expertise in standard MR techniques. MR myelography is obtained by a strongly T2-weighted TSE sequence with suppression of the signal from stationary tissues and adipose tissue. The data obtained are processed using the MIP algorithm. Between April 2004 and July 2006, 278 patients were examined. Of these, 47 were negative, 210 had herniated discs, 16 had tumours, four had synovial cysts and one had traumatic cervical nerve root avulsion. 163 patients with degenerative disease underwent surgery which confirmed the MR examination with the myelographic sequence. Our findings show that MR myelography is useful in neuroradiological diagnosis, namely in patients lacking exhaustive CT or MR documentation of their severe clinical symptoms.