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Geometry of the vertebral bodies and the intervertebral discs in lumbar segments adjacent to spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis: pilot study

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Abstract

The objective is to evaluate the geometric parameters of vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs in spinal segments adjacent to spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis. This pilot cross-sectional study was an ancillary project to the Framingham Heart Study. The presence of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis as well as measurements of spinal geometry were identified on CT imaging of 188 individuals. Spinal geometry measurements included lordosis angle, wedging of each lumbar vertebra and intervertebral disc. Last measurements were used to calculate ΣB, the sum of the lumbar L1–L5 body wedge angles; and ΣD, the sum of the lumbar L1–L5 intervertebral disc angles. Using Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test we compared the geometric parameters between individuals with no pathology and ones with spondylolysis (with no listhesis) at L5 vertebra, ones with isthmic spondylolisthesis at L5–S1 level, and ones with degenerative spondylolisthesis at L5–S1 level. Spinal geometry in individuals with spondylolysis or listhesis at L5 shows three major patterns: In spondylolysis without listhesis, spinal morphology is similar to that of healthy individuals; In isthmic spondylolisthesis there is high lordosis angle, high L5 vertebral body wedging and very high L4–5 disc wedging; In degenerative spondylolisthesis, spinal morphology shows more lordotic wedging of the L5 vertebral body, and less lordotic wedging of intervertebral discs. In conclusion, there are unique geometrical features of the vertebrae and discs in spondylolysis or listhesis. These findings need to be reproduced in larger scale study.

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Acknowledgments

From the Framingham Heart Study of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health and Boston University School of Medicine. This work was supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s Framingham Heart Study contract (No. N01-HC-25195) for the recruitment, enrollment, and examination of the Offspring and Third Generation Cohort and the imaging by computed tomography scan. Dr Hunter is funded by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship.

Conflict of interest

None of the authors have any conflict of interest regarding the contents of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Ella Been

  2. Division of Research, New England Baptist Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Ling Li & David J. Hunter

  3. Northern Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    David J. Hunter

  4. Department of Physical Therapy, Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel

    Ella Been & Leonid Kalichman

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  1. Ella Been
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  2. Ling Li
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  4. Leonid Kalichman
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Correspondence to Ella Been.

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Been, E., Li, L., Hunter, D.J. et al. Geometry of the vertebral bodies and the intervertebral discs in lumbar segments adjacent to spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis: pilot study. Eur Spine J 20, 1159–1165 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-010-1660-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-010-1660-y

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