Qiu Yong, Sun Xu, Zhu Ze-zhang, Wang Bin, Zhu Feng, Yu Yang, Qian Bang-ping
Spine Surgery, the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China.
Zhonghua Wai Ke Za Zhi. 2006 Oct 15;44(20):1385-9.
To investigate the position of the conus medullaris in adolescent idioppathic scoliosis (AIS) with a greater curve and the relationship of that with age, sex, curve severity and curve pattern.
In this study, 202 AIS patients with a Cobb angle greater than 40 degrees on coronal plane were included. And 52 age-matched healthy adolescents were recruited to serve as controls. Both of them displayed neurologically normal upon physical examinations. The T1-weighted, sagittal, spino-echo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of lumbar spine was performed on both of AIS patients and healthy controls. According to a standard method described previously, the position of the conus medullaris relative to lumbar vertebrae and intervertebral disc space was measured.
There was no significant difference in the distributions of the positions of the conus medullaris in AIS patients and healthy controls. In both groups, the mean position of the conus medullaris located at the same level, the lower 1/3 of L(1) (range: the middle 1/3 of T(12) to L(2 - 3) disc space). No significant correlations were found between the position of the conus medullaris and age or sex in AIS and control subjects. It was shown that the positions of the conus medullaris were not significantly different among AIS patients with different curve severity and curve patterns.
The distribution of the conus location in AIS patients is shown to be ranged from the middle 1/3 of T(12) to L(2 - 3) disc space, with no significant difference when compared to controls. No significant associations are found between the conus position with curve severity and curve patterns, indicating the conus location might be of no significant relevance of research on AIS pathogenesis and curve progression.
研究在Cobb角较大的青少年特发性脊柱侧凸（AIS）中脊髓圆锥的位置，以及其与年龄、性别、侧弯严重程度和侧弯类型的关系。
本研究纳入了202例冠状面Cobb角大于40度的AIS患者。招募了52例年龄匹配的健康青少年作为对照。两组患者体格检查时神经功能均正常。对AIS患者和健康对照均进行腰椎矢状面T1加权自旋回波磁共振成像（MRI）检查。根据先前描述的标准方法，测量脊髓圆锥相对于腰椎椎体和椎间盘间隙的位置。
AIS患者和健康对照中脊髓圆锥位置的分布无显著差异。在两组中，脊髓圆锥的平均位置位于同一水平，即L1椎体下1/3（范围：T12椎体中1/3至L2-3椎间盘间隙）。在AIS患者和对照受试者中，未发现脊髓圆锥位置与年龄或性别之间存在显著相关性。结果显示，不同侧弯严重程度和侧弯类型的AIS患者中脊髓圆锥的位置无显著差异。
AIS患者脊髓圆锥位置的分布范围为T12椎体中1/3至L2-3椎间盘间隙，与对照组相比无显著差异。未发现脊髓圆锥位置与侧弯严重程度和侧弯类型之间存在显著关联，表明脊髓圆锥位置可能与AIS发病机制和侧弯进展的研究无显著相关性。
