Magnetic resonance imaging and cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Nineteen patients were examined for cervical spondylotic myelopathy with magnetic resonance imaging. Pre- and postoperative magnetic resonance scans were obtained in most cases. Surgical confirmation of the pathological condition was obtained for all 19 patients. On the T2-weighted scans, there was increased signal intensity within the spinal cord at the point of maximal compression. The exact cause of the increased signal intensity on the T2-weighted images is not known, but is suspected to represent edema, inflammation, vascular ischemia, myelomalacia, or gliosis. The increased signal intensity diminished postoperatively in the patients who improved clinically, and remained the same or increased in those whose conditions remained unchanged or worsened after decompression. The authors suggest that these T2-weighted images carry prognostic significance.