Diffusion Tensor (DTI) for the Assessement of Therapeutic Evolution of Patients With Acute Lumbar Radiculalgia

Prognostic Value Assessment of Biomarkers in Acute Lumbar Radiculalgia : Contribution of the Diffusion Tensor in Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a non-invasive MRI technique offering a functional approach that provides morphological information about the microstructures of the nerve roots. DTI is a widely used neuroimaging technique and is a current topic of research in the field of peripheral nerve imaging.The aim of the study is to determine the prognostic quality of the DTI parameters to predict the therapeutic evolution of patients with lumbar radiculalgia at 6 months.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age ≥ 18 ans
• Patient with Lumbar Radiculalgia (L4, L5 or S1)
• Pain VAS (Visual analog scale) > 30/100
• Less than 3 months of evolution
• With a radiculalgia superior or equal to lumbalgia
• Disco radicular conflict, verified by MRI
• Able to receive information
• Affiliated to French social security

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of chronic lumbalgia and radiculalgia
• History of lumbar surgery
• Recent episode (less than 6 months) with the same radicular topography
• Bilateral radicular compression on MRI
• Patient requiring emergency surgery
• Evolutive disease interfering with pain assesment (neoplasia, inflammatory rheumatism, peripheral neuropathy, central neurological disease)
• MRI contraindication