Magnetoencephalography changes in cervical spondylotic myelopathy: a study of resting-state and somatosensory evoked magnetic fields.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the diagnostic utility of optically pumped magnetometer-based magnetoencephalography (OPM-MEG) in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). METHODS: A total of 31 CSM patients and 32 healthy volunteers were enrolled. Somatosensory-evoked magnetic fields (SEFs) were recorded using OPM-MEG. Clinical evaluations included the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scale and the Short Form-36 (SF-36) health survey. Diagnostic performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, CSM patients demonstrated decreased α power in the occipital region, and increased γ power in the occipital, temporal, and frontal regions. Significant differences in phase locking value (PLV) were observed in the α band between the occipital-frontal regions. The latency of the maximum SEF was 49.66 ± 5.51 ms in healthy controls and 58.63 ± 7.73 ms in CSM patients. ROC analysis for SEF latency yielded an area under the curve of 0.844, with a cutoff value of 55.0 ms, sensitivity of 77.4%, and specificity of 81.3%. CONCLUSION: MEG may a helpful tool in the functional assessment of the neurological deficits in CSM, and shows potential as an useful method for clinical diagnosis and functional evaluation of this condition.