Magnetic resonance imaging of patients with cervical myelopathy
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Magnetic resonance imaging of patient s with cervical myelopathy
IRAS ID
209054
Contact name
Daniel Wright
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Progressive deterioration or “wear and tear” of the discs and bones in the neck is called Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy (DCM). Ultimately the disease process causes compression of the spinal cord. Globally it is the most common cause of spinal dysfunction and yet it remains poorly understood.Symptoms include pain, stiffness, numb and/or clumsy hands, weakness, bilateral arm paraesthesia, gait impairment and sphincter disturbance. Clinicians have always depended heavily on imaging of the cervical spine to make treatment decisions. The decision of when or if to operate on patients with the disease remains a difficult one.
The last decade has seen huge advances in structural and functional imaging techniques. These include diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), MR spectroscopy (MRS), magnetization transfer (MT) and functional MR imaging (fMRI). In addition there is also the advent of ultra high resolution 7T MRI scanners. This imaging equipment and these imaging techniques along with sound clinical correlation could help provide us with imaging biomarkers that could improve patient management.We ask, can the latest MRI and fMRI techniques of imaging the spinal cord improve the ability of clinicians to prognosticate and make treatment decisions on the need for decompressive surgery in DCM?REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/SW/0063
Date of REC Opinion
28 Feb 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion