Stroman P W, Kornelsen J, Bergman A, Krause V, Ethans K, Malisza K L, Tomanek B
MR Technology Group, Institute for Biodiagnostics, National Research Council of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Spinal Cord. 2004 Feb;42(2):59-66. doi: 10.1038/sj.sc.3101559.
A magnetic resonance imaging technique that enables indirect detection of neuronal activity has been developed for the spinal cord. In the present study, this method, spinal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), is applied to the first study of the injured spinal cord, with the goal of better clinical assessment of the entire cord.
The objectives of this project are: (1) to investigate the neuronal activity that can be detected in the spinal cord caudal to a chronic injury by means of spinal fMRI, and (2) to develop spinal fMRI as a clinical diagnostic tool.
Institute for Biodiagnostics, National Research Council of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
fMRI of the spinal cord was carried out in 27 volunteers with cervical or thoracic spinal cord injuries (SCIs). Of these volunteers, 18 had complete injuries, and nine had incomplete injuries. Spinal fMRI was carried out in a 1.5 T clinical MR system, using established methods. Thermal stimulation at 10 degrees C was applied to the fourth lumbar dermatome on each leg, and images were obtained of the entire lumbar spinal cord.
Areas of neuronal activity were consistently observed in the lumbar spinal cord in response to the thermal stimulation, even when the subjects had no awareness of the sensation. The pattern of activity was notably different compared with noninjured subjects. In general, subjects with complete SCI showed absent or diminished dorsal gray matter activity, but had enhanced ventral activity, particularly contralateral to the stimulation.
Spinal fMRI is able to provide a noninvasive assessment of the injured spinal cord that does not depend on the patient's perception of the stimulus being applied. This work was carried out on a standard clinical MRI system without modification, and so is readily applicable in most MR units.
This work was funded by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
一种能够间接检测神经元活动的磁共振成像技术已被开发用于脊髓。在本研究中，这种方法，即脊髓功能磁共振成像（fMRI），被应用于对脊髓损伤的首次研究，目的是更好地对整个脊髓进行临床评估。
本项目的目的是：（1）通过脊髓fMRI研究慢性损伤尾侧脊髓中可检测到的神经元活动，以及（2）将脊髓fMRI开发为一种临床诊断工具。
加拿大曼尼托巴省温尼伯市加拿大国家研究委员会生物诊断研究所。
对27名患有颈髓或胸髓损伤（SCI）的志愿者进行脊髓fMRI检查。在这些志愿者中，18人有完全性损伤，9人有不完全性损伤。脊髓fMRI在1.5T临床磁共振系统中使用既定方法进行。对每条腿的第四腰段皮节施加10摄氏度的热刺激，并获取整个腰髓的图像。
即使受试者没有感觉到刺激，在热刺激下，腰髓中也始终观察到神经元活动区域。与未受伤的受试者相比，活动模式明显不同。一般来说，完全性SCI患者的背侧灰质活动缺失或减弱，但腹侧活动增强，尤其是刺激对侧。
脊髓fMRI能够对脊髓损伤进行非侵入性评估，且不依赖于患者对所施加刺激的感知。这项工作是在标准临床MRI系统上进行的，无需改装，因此很容易在大多数磁共振设备中应用。
这项工作由加拿大卫生研究院（CIHR）的一项拨款资助。
