Lumbosacral spinal cord changes after acute spinal cord injury: preliminary results of an MRI study

Imaging of the lumbosacral enlargement (LSE) has previously demonstrated remote degeneration below a cervical spinal cord injury leading to progressive atrophy of grey and white matter. Here, we investigate, for the first time, neurodegeneration in the conus medullaris (including the LSE) after acute spinal cord injury using an optimized multi-echo gradient-echo sequence. At 1-month after injury, preliminary results show lower grey matter volume in the conus medullaris. This is the first MRI investigation indicating remote tissue-specific volumetric changes in the conus medullaris in spinal cord injury.