Abstract：Objective To investigate the application value of the mean kurtosis (MK) imaging by comparing the differences of the
MK and factional anisotropy (FA) in normal, mild and moderate cervical spondylosis myelopathy patients. Methods Sixty patients
diagnosed with cervical spondylotic myelopathy were recruited. In this study according to Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA)
score, the patients were divided into mild (37 cases scoring between 13 and 16 points) and moderate (23 cases, scoring between 9 and
12 points) groups, and twenty healthy individuals were selected as control. All subjects received routine MRI scans and DKI (diffusion
kurtosis imaging) scans (b values selected were: 0, 1000, 2000, thirty directions of diffusion). The mean kurtosis and the factorial
anisotropy values were extracted from the most severely oppressed spinal level. Statistical differences were analyzed using analysis
of variance. Results Satisfactory DKI image were acquired from all subjects. The MK values extracted from the most oppressed
spinal level of mild, moderate, and control group were 0.83±0.13, 0.72±0.11, and 0.92±0.13, respectively, and differences
among groups were significant (P<0.05). The FA value of each group were 0.64±0.09, 0.51±0.12, and 0.73±0.07, respectively,
and differences among groups were statistically significant (P<0.05). Both the FA value (R2=0.638, P<0.001) and the MK value
(R2=0.193, P<0.001) were related to the JOA score. Conclusion DKI may reflect the microscopic pathological changes of white
matter and grey matter of spinal cord in early cervical spondylotic myelopathy patients.
