New Functional MR Technique to Help Improve Understanding of Spinal Cord Injuries and Diseases

Researchers at the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science (Nashville, TN, USA) have demonstrated that resting state networks, similar to those in the brain, also exist in the human spinal cord. Changes to the resting state networks in the brain have been linked to various disorders including memory problems during aging.

The research team led by postdoctoral research fellow Robert Barry, PhD, used a 7-T Magnetic Resonance (MR) scanner and a noninvasive contrast imaging technique called Blood-Oxygen-Level-Dependent (BOLD) to scan 22 healthy volunteers for 55 to 60 minutes while resting.

The BOLD functional MR Imaging (fMRI) technique could be used to investigate how intrinsic resting circuits in the spinal cord are related to neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, or for pre- and post-surgery assessment of spinal cord function during treatment of traumatic spinal injuries.

In the future, the fMRI technique could be used with the more common lower-field 3-T MR machines. According to Dr Seth Smith, PhD, assistant professor at Vanderbilt and coauthor of the study, fMRI could be used before surgery of patients with traumatic spinal injuries: “You could do one scan and determine the prognosis for recovery and potentially design therapies to improve that prognosis.”

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Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science