Nouri Aria, Cheng Joseph S, Davies Benjamin, Kotter Mark, Schaller Karl, Tessitore Enrico
Department of Neurosurgery, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
Department of Neurosurgery, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0515, USA.
J Clin Med. 2020 Feb 16;9(2):535. doi: 10.3390/jcm9020535.
Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is the most common cause of spinal cord injury in developed countries; its prevalence is increasing due to the ageing of the population. DCM causes neurological dysfunction and is a significant cause of disability in the elderly. It has important negative impacts on the quality of life of those affected, as well as on their caregivers. DCM is triggered by a variety of degenerative changes in the neck, which affect one or more anatomical structures, including intervertebral discs, vertebrae, and spinal canal ligaments. These changes can also lead to structural abnormalities, leading to alterations in alignment, mobility, and stability. The principle unifying problem in this disease, regardless of the types of changes present, is injury to the spinal cord due to compression by static and/or dynamic forces. This review is partitioned into three segments that focus on key elements of the past, the present, and the future in the field, which serve to introduce the focus issue on "Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy and the Aging Spine". Emerging from this review is that tremendous progress has been made in the field, particularly in recent years, and that there are exciting possibilities for further advancements of patient care.
退行性颈椎脊髓病（DCM）是发达国家脊髓损伤最常见的原因；由于人口老龄化，其患病率正在上升。DCM会导致神经功能障碍，是老年人致残的重要原因。它对患者及其照顾者的生活质量都有重要的负面影响。DCM由颈部的多种退行性变化引发，这些变化会影响一个或多个解剖结构，包括椎间盘、椎体和椎管韧带。这些变化还会导致结构异常，进而引起排列、活动度和稳定性的改变。无论存在何种类型的变化，该疾病的主要统一问题是脊髓受到静态和/或动态力的压迫而损伤。本综述分为三个部分，重点关注该领域过去、现在和未来的关键要素，旨在介绍“退行性颈椎脊髓病与衰老脊柱”这一重点问题。从本综述中可以看出，该领域已经取得了巨大进展，尤其是近年来，并且在患者护理的进一步发展方面存在令人兴奋的可能性。
