A quantitative and clinical evaluation of nerve roots in lumbosacral radiculopathy using diffusion tensor imaging

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the fractional anisotropy (FA) values of compressed nerves derived in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and the corresponding clinical symptoms for quantitative and clinical evaluation in patients with lumbosacral radiculopathy. Methods Thirty-six patients and ten volunteers participated in the study and measured with DTI. The resultant FA values for L5–S1 lumbar nerve roots were calculated at three sub-regions. Additionally, the DTI relevant tractography was also performed on L4–S1 nerve roots. Clinical symptoms were performed by Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scoring for each patient and volunteer. Results The FA values of the nerves at the symptomatic side were significantly lower than those at the asymptomatic side ( p