title: Axial skeletal changes in paraplegics.
abstract: Two-hundred paraplegic men were studied to determine the nature of their axial skeletal changes. Forty-two per cent had sacro-iliac (SI) joint changes which varied from marginal blurring, erosion, sclerosis, and narrowing of the joint space (9%) to complete obliteration of the joints (33%). Radiographs of the thoracolumbar spine revealed syndesmophytes (9%), interspinous ossification (2%), intervertebral disk calcification (1.5%), and large osteophytes (2%). These changes had no relation to race, age (except spine changes), or paralysis level, but were related to the duration of the paralysis. The observed skeletal changes mimic HLA-B27 arthropathy. However, the presence of para-osteoarthropathies and negative HLA-B27 in paraplegics would help in differential diagnosis.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000276:immunology; D010384:Pelvic Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011859:Radiography; D012446:Sacroiliac Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013131:Spine / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens