Journal ArticleDOI
Magnetic resonance classification of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration.
TLDR
Disc degeneration can be graded reliably on routine T2-weighted magnetic resonance images using the grading system and algorithm presented in this investigation.Abstract:Â
Study design A reliability study was conducted Objectives To develop a classification system for lumbar disc degeneration based on routine magnetic resonance imaging, to investigate the applicability of a simple algorithm, and to assess the reliability of this classification system Summary of background data A standardized nomenclature in the assessment of disc abnormalities is a prerequisite for a comparison of data from different investigations The reliability of the assessment has a crucial influence on the validity of the data Grading systems of disc degeneration based on state of the art magnetic resonance imaging and corresponding reproducibility studies currently are sparse Methods A grading system for lumbar disc degeneration was developed on the basis of the literature An algorithm to assess the grading was developed and optimized by reviewing lumbar magnetic resonance examinations The reliability of the algorithm in depicting intervertebral disc alterations was tested on the magnetic resonance images of 300 lumbar intervertebral discs in 60 patients (33 men and 27 women) with a mean age of 40 years (range, 10-83 years) All scans were analyzed independently by three observers Intra- and interobserver reliabilities were assessed by calculating kappa statistics Results There were 14 Grade I, 82 Grade II, 72 Grade III, 68 Grade IV, and 64 Grade V discs The kappa coefficients for intra- and interobserver agreement were substantial to excellent: intraobserver (kappa range, 084-090) and interobserver (kappa range, 069-081) Complete agreement was obtained, on the average, in 838% of all the discs A difference of one grade occurred in 159% and a difference of two or more grades in 13% of all the cases Conclusion Disc degeneration can be graded reliably on routine T2-weighted magnetic resonance images using the grading system and algorithm presented in this investigationread more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
What is intervertebral disc degeneration, and what causes it?
TL;DR: To suggest how intervertebral disc degeneration might be distinguished from the physiologic processes of growth, aging, healing, and adaptive remodeling, and to simplify the issue of causality.
Journal ArticleDOI
Classification of age-related changes in lumbar intervertebral discs: 2002 Volvo Award in basic science.
Norbert Boos,Sabine Weissbach,Helmut Rohrbach,Christoph Weiler,Kevin F. Spratt,Andreas G. Nerlich +5 more
TL;DR: Histologic disc alterations can reliably be graded based on the proposed classification system providing a morphologic framework for more sophisticated molecular biologic analyses of factors leading to age-related disc changes.
Journal ArticleDOI
Incremental Support Vector Learning for Ordinal Regression
TL;DR: Numerical experiments on the several benchmark and real-world data sets show that the incremental algorithm can converge to the optimal solution in a finite number of steps, and is faster than the existing batch and incremental SVOR algorithms.
Journal ArticleDOI
Mechanics and biology in intervertebral disc degeneration: a vicious circle
Pieter-Paul A. Vergroesen,Idsart Kingma,Kaj S. Emanuel,Roel J. W. Hoogendoorn,Tim J. M. Welting,B.J. van Royen,J.H. van Dieen,Theo H. Smit +7 more
TL;DR: It is argued that mechanics and biology are interconnected and amplify each other and the proposed disease model explains the comparable efficacy of very different animal models of disc degeneration, but also helps to consider the consequences of therapeutic interventions, either at the cellular, material or mechanical level.
Journal ArticleDOI
Lumbar degenerative disk disease.
Michael T. Modic,Jeffrey S. Ross +1 more
TL;DR: Understanding the relationship of etiologic factors, the morphologic alterations, which can be characterized with imaging, and the mechanisms of pain production and their interactions in the production of symptoms will require more accurate and reproducible stratification of patient cohorts.
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Journal ArticleDOI
Preliminary evaluation of a scheme for grading the gross morphology of the human intervertebral disc
TL;DR: A five-category grading scheme for assessing the gross morphology of midsagittal sections of the human lumbar intervertebral disc was developed and the ability of three observers to categorize a series of 68 discs with a wide spectrum of morphologies established the comprehensiveness of the classification.