Aims and objectives
The craniocervical junction (CCJ) is a complex of bony and ligamentous structures.
The CCJ has an important function in protecting the content of the cervical spine while still allowing significant mobility of the head and the upper cervical spine.
The CCJ is composed of 2 main joints: the atlanto-occipital and the atlanto-axial joint.
While movement in the atlanto-occipital joint is mainly determined by bony structures,
movement in the atlanto-axial joint is guided by the craniocervical ligaments that function as the main stabilizers (1).
In our...
Methods and materials
Subjects:
106 asymptomatic volunteers between 16 and 99 years old were examined between February and November 2018.
A previous history of whiplash or other cervical trauma and MR safety-related contraindications were exclusion criteria.
All volunteers were informed about the purpose of the study and signed an informed consent.
All data was anonymized.
The study was approved by the ethics committee of our institution.
Data acquisition:
All MR examinations were performed on the same 3T MRI scanner (Siemens,
Magnetom Prisma,
Erlangen Germany).
The MRI protocol consisted...
Results
The mean age was 50,71 (16-94) (standard deviation 19,34).
4 studies were not included due to severe motion artifacts.
59/102 (58%) showed changes to at least one ligament.
Multiple lesions and high grade lesions have a positive correlation with age (P <0,001).
Conclusion
The craniocervical ligaments in asymptomatic adults show a variable degree of signal and contour changes.
These changes are more common in elderly adults compared to young adults,
showing a clear relationship between age and degeneration of the craniocervical ligaments.
High grade ligamentous lesions,
with partial rupture or complete rupture of the CCJ ligaments were extremely rare in asymptomatic patients.
Knowledge of degenerative changes to the craniocervical ligaments is important in order to be able to differentiate degenerative ligamentous changes and posttraumatic changes in patients with...
References
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Hallock JD,
Radcliff V,
et al.Ligaments of the craniocervical junction. J Neurosurg Spine.2011;14:697–709.
2)Driscoll DR.
Anatomical and biomechanical characteristics of upper cervical ligamentous structures: a review.J Manipul Physiol Ther.1987;10(3):107–110.
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Bonfante E,
Cotes C,
Guirguis M,
Hakimelahi R,
West C,
et al.
Imaging of atlanto-occipital and atlantoaxial traumatic injuries: What the radiologist needs to know.Radiographics.2015;35:2121–34.
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5)Krakenes...