• Volkan Emre Arpinar, Scott D Rand, Andrew P Klein, Dennis J Maiman, and L Tugan Muftuler.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Froedtert Hospital, 9200 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA.
• Eur Spine J. 2015 Nov 1; 24 (11): 2458-67.

PurposeDynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) was used to investigate the associations between intervertebral disc degeneration and changes in perfusion and diffusion in the disc endplates.Methods56 participants underwent MRI scans. Changes in DCE-MRI signal enhancement in the endplate regions were analyzed. Also, a group template was generated for the endplates and enhancement maps were registered to this template for group analysis.ResultsDCE-MRI enhancement changed significantly in cranial endplates with increased degeneration. A similar trend was observed for caudal endplates, but it was not significant. Group-averaged enhancement maps revealed major changes in spatial distribution of endplate perfusion and diffusion with increasing disc degeneration especially in peripheral endplate regions.ConclusionsIncreased enhancement in the endplate regions of degenerating discs might be an indication of ongoing damage in these tissues. Therefore, DCE-MRI could aid in understanding the pathophysiology of disc degeneration. Moreover, it could be used in the planning of novel treatments such as stem cell therapy.

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