Adjacent disc and facet joint degeneration in young adults with low-grade spondylolytic spondylolisthesis: A magnetic resonance imaging study

Background/Purpose Premature adjacent-level degeneration has been attributed to vertebral fusion, but spondylolisthesis has not been reported as a pathological factor responsible for the degeneration of adjacent disc and facet joint. We hypothesized that the degeneration of disc and facet joints in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Formosan Medical Association 2015-12, Vol.114 (12), p.1211-1215
Main Authors: Hsieh, Chin-Chiang, Wang, Jung-Der, Lin, Ruey-Mo, Lin, Chii-Jeng, Huang, Kuo-Yuan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adjacent degeneration
Adolescent
Adult
disc
facet joint
Female
Humans
Internal Medicine
Intervertebral Disc - diagnostic imaging
Intervertebral Disc - pathology
Low Back Pain - etiology
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Range of Motion, Articular
Retrospective Studies
Sciatica - etiology
Spondylolisthesis - diagnostic imaging
Spondylolisthesis - physiopathology
spondylolytic spondylolisthesis
Taiwan
Young Adult
young adults
Zygapophyseal Joint - diagnostic imaging
Zygapophyseal Joint - pathology
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Summary:Background/Purpose Premature adjacent-level degeneration has been attributed to vertebral fusion, but spondylolisthesis has not been reported as a pathological factor responsible for the degeneration of adjacent disc and facet joint. We hypothesized that the degeneration of disc and facet joints in the adjacent levels is correlated with spondylolisthesis. Methods Magnetic resonance images of 35 symptomatic young adults (16–29 years old) with low-grade L5 –S1 spondylolytic spondylolisthesis (Meyerding Grade 1 or 2) and 50 symptomatic young referents (20–29 years old) with L5 –S1 disc herniation without spondylolisthesis were recruited to compare the differences between disc and facet-joint degenerations at the olisthetic and adjacent levels using the Mantel extension test. Results There were statistically significant degenerative changes of the discs and facet joints at the olisthetic and adjacent levels of patients with spondylolytic spondylolisthesis compared with the reference group. There is a trend that the disc and facet joints degenerate the most at the olisthetic level and become less affected at adjacent levels away from the lesion of pars defect. Conclusion Low-grade spondylolytic spondylolisthesis was associated with significant degenerations of the disc and facet joints at olisthetic and adjacent levels in young adults.
ISSN:0929-6646
DOI:10.1016/j.jfma.2014.09.004