title: How old is your cervical spine? Cervical spine biological age: a new evaluation scale.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article aims at presenting a scale that, through the analysis of MRI images, clearly charts the various degenerative stages of the cervical spine and establishes its biological age. We have created this scale by summing together various scores linked to a selection of parameters according to which MRI images are analyzed.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined 423 cervical spine MRI scans, belonging to patients who had been admitted to the Medical Imaging Service of the Military Hospital of Rome between January 2010 and July 2011. We selected 6 parameters for the analysis of the MRI scans of the cervical spine: (1) the degeneration of the intervertebral discs, (2) the degeneration of the yellow ligaments, (3) the degeneration of the vertebral bodies, (4) the possible presence of spondylolistheses, (5) the presence or absence of foraminal stenosis, and (6) the diameter of the spinal canal. We assigned to each parameter a score system based on a graduated scale. The cervical spine physiological age can be determined by summing up the scores obtained for each parameter.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We submitted the data obtained from the study to a statistical enquiry. The results of the enquiry confirmed the suitability of the parameters selected for the evaluation of the aging process of the cervical spine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The effectiveness of the various treatments for cervical spine degenerative disorders is influenced by the overall anatomical conditions of the cervical spine. Up until now there has been no objective criterion for the evaluation of these anatomical conditions. We believe that this scale will be a useful tool to homogenize retrospective studies and to correctly set up prospective studies on the degenerative conditions of the cervical spine and relative treatments.
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgical Division of the Rome Army Medical Center, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Venceslao
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Wierzbicki
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgical Division Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza Rome University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pesce
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgical Division of the Rome Army Medical Center, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marrocco
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgical Division and Radiological Division of the Rome Army Medical Center, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Piccione
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry-Sapienza Rome University, Mediterranean Neuromedical Institute of Neurosciences, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Colonnese
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgical Division of the Rome Army Medical Center, Department of Neurology and Psychiatry- Sapienza Rome University, via Pietro da Cortona 1, 00196, Rome, Italy. riccardo.caruso@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caruso
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007403:Intervertebral Disc; D055959:Intervertebral Disc Degeneration / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013115:Spinal Canal / Q000473:pathology; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D013168:Spondylolisthesis / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Biological aging; Cervical spine; Intervertebral disc; MRI; Myelopathy; Spinal disease