J Korean Neurosurg Soc.  2013 Feb;53(2):89-95. 10.3340/jkns.2013.53.2.89.

Prevalence of Disc Degeneration in Asymptomatic Korean Subjects. Part 2 : Cervical Spine

• Lee TH
• Kim SJ
• Lim SM

• KMID: 2190684
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3340/jkns.2013.53.2.89

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Similar to back pain, neck pain has recently shown to have increasing prevalence. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is useful in identifying the causes of neck pain. However, MRI shows not only pathological lesions but also physiological changes at the same time, and there are few Korean data. The authors have attempted to analyze the prevalence of disc degeneration in highly selective asymptomatic Korean subjects using MRI.
METHODS
We performed 3 T MRI sagittal scans from C2 to T1 on 102 asymptomatic subjects (50 men and 52 women) who visited our hospital between the ages of 14 and 82 years (mean age 46.3 years). All images were read independently by three observers (two neurosurgeons and one neuroradiologist) who were not given any information about the subjects. We classified grading for cervical disc herniation (HN), annular fissure (AF), and nucleus degeneration (ND), using disc degeneration classification.
RESULTS
The prevalence of HN, AF, and ND were 81.0%, 85.9%, and 95.4%, respectively. High prevalence of HN, AF, and ND was shown compared to previous literature.
CONCLUSION
In asymptomatic Korean subjects, the abnormal findings of 3 T MRI showed a high prevalence in HN, AF, and ND. Several factors might play important roles in these results, such as population-specific characters, MRI field strength, and disc degeneration grading system.

Keyword

Degeneration; Cervical disc; Magnetic resonance imaging

MeSH Terms

Back Pain
Humans
Intervertebral Disc Degeneration
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Neck Pain
Prevalence
Spine

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 References of image for disc degeneration are shown. The criteria of classification are described in Table 2 and 3. A : Herniation. G0, normal. G1, diffuse bulging. G2, protrusion. G3, extrusion. B : Annular fissure. G0, normal. G1, Annular fissure at posterior or posterolateral site. G2, annular fissure at anterior site. G3, annular fissure at anterior and posterior site. C : Nucleus degeneration. G0, normal. G1, normal disc height and hyperintense nucleus signal with horizontal dark band. G2, decreased disc height and hyperintense nucleus signal with or without horizontal dark band. G3, normal disc height and decreased nucleus signal with slightly or heterogeneous irregularity. G4, slightly decreased disc height and decreased nucleus signal with slightly or heterogeneous irregularity. G5, moderately decreased disc height and decreased nucleus signal with moderately. G6, collapsed disc height and hypointense nucleus signal.

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  Fig. 2 Graph of disc degeneration prevalence according to age and level, calculated by disc count. A, B and C : Herniation. D : Annular fissure. E : High-signal intensity zone (HIZ). F : Nucleus degeneration.

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