Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
MRI shows link between vertebral fat and disc degeneration in dogs
By Lee, Seokmin et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary science·2024·Department of Veterinary Medical Imaging, South Korea·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Correlation between fat signal fraction of vertebral body and intervertebral disc degeneration in dogs using magnetic resonance imaging.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at how fat buildup in the spine relates to disc problems in dogs, particularly focusing on chondrodystrophic breeds like Dachshunds. It found that older dogs and those with more severe disc degeneration had higher fat levels in their vertebrae. Chondrodystrophic dogs showed more significant disc issues at a younger age compared to non-chondrodystrophic dogs. This suggests that MRI scans can be useful for assessing disc health and fat accumulation in the spine of dogs, especially as they age.
People also search for: dog back pain MRI · Dachshund disc problems · intervertebral disc degeneration in dogs · signs of spine issues in older dogs
Abstract
IMPORTANCE: In human medicine, research using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown that an increase in the vertebral body fat signal fraction (FSF) is associated with the severity of intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. Nevertheless, veterinary medicine has limited information on the relationship between the vertebral body FSF and IVD degeneration. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the relationship between IVD degeneration and the vertebral body FSF in dogs and compared these factors between chondrodystrophic (CD) and non-chondrodystrophic (NCD) dogs. METHODS: IVD degeneration in dogs was classified morphologically using the Pfirrmann grade, and the vertebral body FSF was evaluated quantitatively. RESULTS: The vertebral body FSF showed a statistically significant difference among the age groups. The vertebral body FSF was significantly higher in Pfirrmann grades 3-5 than in grades 1 and 2. The mean Pfirrmann grade of CD dogs was higher than that of NCD dogs in the four-to-six-year-old group. The mean vertebral body FSF of CD dogs was higher than that of NCD dogs in the group of seven years and above. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In dogs, the vertebral body FSF increased significantly with age and Pfirrmann grade. The CD dogs showed a higher degree of IVD degeneration at a younger age than the NCD dogs. CD dogs appeared to experience more severe fat deposition of the vertebral body in old age than NCD dogs. MRI examinations are helpful for evaluating IVD degeneration and vertebral body fat deposition.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39608781/