title: Intervertebral disk: normal age-related changes in MR signal intensity.
abstract: The effect of age on the signal intensity of normal lumbar intervertebral disks was studied. Twenty-seven cadavers ranging in age from newborn to 79 years were studied with use of a 1.5-T magnetic resonance (MR) imager within 48 hours of death. The signal intensity in the central area of the disk was measured on a sagittal image obtained with a long repetition time (TR) and a long echo time (TE) and correlated to the age. A significant correlation between the decrease in signal intensity and age was found, although signal intensity changed less than 6% in 80 years. The decrease in signal intensity is concomitant with decreases in water and glycosaminoglycans and increases in collagen in the disk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Froedtert Memorial Hospital, Milwaukee 53226.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Sether
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Haughton
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Fischer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D001344:Autopsy; D001834:Body Water / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000378:metabolism; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000378:metabolism; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011509:Proteoglycans; D003094:Collagen