Results of magnetic resonance imaging of the vertebral column in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome

We conducted of the study in a group of ten patients with diagnosed myelodysplastic syndrome obtained from the department of internal medicine. The progression of the disease was estimated on the basis of trephine biopsy. Considering the pathophysiology of the disease, we decided that there were indications to perform MRI examination of the spine (the patients met the included criteria). The pilot study provided evidence that this imaging technique detects decreases of the bone marrow signal in T1-weighted sequences and significantly increased attenuation value in contrast enhanced T1-weighted ones in comparison with the control group. The authors conclude that MRI of the spine should be treated as a valuable tool in of diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome.