Cervical spinal functional magnetic resonance imaging of the spinal cord injured patient during electrical stimulation.
To evaluate the spatial distribution and signal intensity changes following spinal cord activation in patients with spinal cord injury.



This study used spinal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) based on signal enhancement by extra-vascular water protons (SEEP) to assess elicited responses during subcutaneous electrical stimulation at the right elbow and right thumb in the cervical spinal cord.



Seven healthy volunteers and seven patients with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) were included in this study. Significant functional activation was observed mainly in the right side of the spinal cord at the level of the C5-C6 cervical vertebra in both the axial and sagittal planes. A higher percentage of signal changes (4.66 ± 2.08 % in injured subjects vs. 2.78 ± 1.66 % in normal) and more average activation voxels (4.69 ± 2.59 in injured subjects vs. 2.56 ± 1.13 in normal subject) in axial plane at the C5-C6 cervical vertebra with a statistically significant difference. The same trends were observed in the sagittal plane with higher percentage of signal changes and more average activation voxels, though no statistically significant difference compared with the control group.



Spinal SEEP fMRI is a powerful noninvasive method for the study of local neuronal activation in the human spinal cord, which may be of clinical value for evaluating the effectiveness of interventions aimed at promoting recovery of function using electrical stimulation.
Department of Surgery, 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, Guangdong, China.
Xiao-Ping
XP
Zhong
Department of Surgery, 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, Guangdong, China. chenyexi@vip.sina.com.
Ye-Xi
YX
Chen
Department of Surgery, 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, Guangdong, China.
Zhi-Yang
ZY
Li
Department of Medical Imaging, 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, Guangdong, China. zwshen@stu.edu.cn.
Zhi-Wei
ZW
Shen
Department of Surgery, 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, Guangdong, China.
Kang-Mei
KM
Kong
Department of Medical Imaging, 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, Guangdong, China.
Ren-Hua
RH
Wu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*
Electrical stimulation; Functional magnetic resonance; SEEP; Spinal cord injury