title: Reliability of diffusion weighted MR imaging in differentiating degenerative and infectious end plate changes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of the study was to investigate the value of diffusion weighted MR imaging in the diagnosis of Modic type 1 change, which may be confused with the acute infectious spondylodiscitis on conventional MR imaging.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-seven patients with erosive intervertebral osteochondrosis, Modic type 1 and 18 patients with spondylodiscitis were included in this retrospective study. All images were acquired using on 1.5 Tesla MR units. Lumbar spinal MR imaging of 45 patients were retrieved from a digital database of a radiology record system and evaluated by one experienced radiologist. Patients with Modic type 1 change had CT slices obtained from the diseased disc space and the affected vertebrae.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bone marrow adjacent to the vertebral end plate in both Modic type 1 change and acute spondylodiscitis were hypointense on T1-weighted images. On T2-weighted images corresponding levels of vertebral end-plates showed hyperintense signal intensity in both group. All the patients with spondylodiscitis and Modic type 1 change were hyperintense and hypointense on diffusion-weighted MR images, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that diffusion weighted MR imaging is an useful method in differentiating Modic type 1 changes from acute spondylodiscitis, both of which may mimic each other, either on clinical or conventional MRI findings.
authors.affiliation: Radiology Department, Izmir Education and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ozgur
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Oztekin
authors.forename: Cem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Calli
authors.forename: Omer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kitis
authors.forename: Zehra Hilal
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Adibelli
authors.forename: Cemal Suat
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Eren
authors.forename: Melda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Apaydin
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zileli
authors.forename: Taskin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yurtseven