Significance of Increased Signal Intensity on T2 Weighted MRI in Patients with Cervical Spondylosis

ABSTRACT

The cases of 33 patients with cervical spondylosis, who had preoperative magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) and surgical intervention, were reviewed. There were areas of increased signal intensity on T2 weighted image in 13 patients out of 33 patients, whereas there were none in the other 20. The pre- and postoperative clinical condition, severity of cord compression and preoperative value of somatosensory evoked potentials(SSEP) of patients whose preoperative MRI showed areas of increased signal intensity in the spinal cord on T2 weighted image were worse than that of the patients who did not have areas of increased signal intensity. The areas of increased signal intensity on T2 weighted image in spinal cord might be edema, cord gliosis, demyelination, or microcavities.