Measurement of Cervical Bone Mineral Density by Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry

This study investigated whether cervical bone mineral density (BMD) measured by Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) was a reliable parameter for estimation of local bone metabolism of the cervical spine in patients with symptomatic cervical disorders.We examined the reproducibility of quantifying cervical BMD by DEXA, and cervical BMD was compared with lumbar and right femoral neck BMD. Cervical BMD was measured in 23 normal females. The precision of lateral BMD measurement of the cervical spine by DEXA (CV=2.77%) was as good as that of the lumbar spine and right femoral neck (respectively, CV=2.02% and 2.37%). Age-related BMD changes seen between 20 and 60 years of age in cervical spines were similar to those in the lumbar spines. Correlation between C5 BMD and L3 BMD was highly significant in normal females (r=0.67, p<0.001).These results suggest that cervical BMD reflects the general bone mineral content movement. Therefore, we concluded that DEXA can be a powerful tool for estimation of local bone mineral content movement of cervical spine.