No abstract

Rate of vertebral bone marrow perfusion revealed a significant decrease in subjects older than 50 years. Women demonstrated a higher marrow perfusion rate than men younger than 50 years and a more marked decrease than men older than 50 years.

Purpose:To investigate blood perfusion of vertebral lesions using dynamic Gd-DTPA-enhanced MRI. Materials and Methods:Dynamic MR studies were performed for cases of acute compression fracture, chronic compression fracture, metastatic vertebral lesions with or without compression fracture. A total of 42 patients (71 vertebral segments) were included. Five types of time-intensity curves (TICs) were defined as: nearly no enhancement (type A), slow enhancement (type B), a rapid contrast wash-in followed by an equilibrium phase (type C), a rapid contrast wash-in followed by early wash-out (type D), and a rapid contrast wash-in with a second slower-rising slope (type E).Results: Metastatic vertebral lesions with or without fracture had a higher peak enhancement percentage and steeper enhancement slope than those of chronic compression fracture, but had no difference as compared to those of acute compression fracture. The type D curve had high positive predictive value for metastatic group (100%), and the type E curve had high positive predictive value for benign compression fracture (85.7%). Conclusion:Type D and E curves are valuable in the differentiation of benign and malignant vertebral lesions.

The empty notch sign, a wavy ACL, bone contusion, and posterior horn of lateral meniscus tears are suggestive of a complete ACL tear. A residual straight and tight ACL fiber seen in at least one image section is a helpful sign to diagnosis of partial ACL tear. In the acute ACL injury stage, a focal increase of the ACL signal intensity is more suggestive of a partial ACL tear.