Cerebrospinal fluid velocity changes of idiopathic scoliosis: a preliminary study on 3-T PC-MRI and 3D-SPACE-VFAM data

Objectives To the best of our knowledge, there is no study on 3-Tesla (3-T) phase-contrast MRI (PC-MRI) and three-dimensional sampling perfection with application-optimized contrasts using diferent fip-angle evolutions (3D-SPACE-VFAM) in the evaluation of idiopathic scoliosis. This study aimed to investigate CSF abnormalities in the scoliotic spine using 3-T PC MRI and 3D-SPACE-VFAM techniques. Methods Thirty-four patients and 14 controls were examined with spinal PC-MRI and T2-weighted 3D-SPACE-VFAM techniques. Inter- and intra-reader agreements of fow-void phenomenon on 3D-SPACE-VFAM images, and velocity values on PC-MRI data were also evaluated. Results There are statistically signifcant diferences between scoliosis and control groups based on the highest and mean peak velocity values on PC-MRI images (p=0.005 and p=0.023, respectively). The main thoracic (MT) group’s highest peak CSF velocity values were higher than the control group (p=0.022). There is a signifcant diference between the patient and control groups regarding fow-void phenomenon scores on 3D-SPACE-VFAM images (p=0.036). Inter- and intra-reader agreement values related to PC-MRI velocity measurements were perfect for all PC-MRI readings. Inter- and intra-reader agreement values of the fow-void phenomenon scores were moderate. Conclusions Our study has led us to conclude that idiopathic scoliosis is associated with CSF fow disturbances in parallel with the literature. MRI can demonstrate these abnormalities in a non-invasive and radiation-free way.