J. Zapletal et al., ATLANTOODONTOID OSTEOARTHRITIS - APPEARANCE AND PREVALENCE AT COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY, Spine (Philadelphia, Pa. 1976), 20(1), 1995, pp. 49-53
Study Design. In this prospective study, the authors evaluated the atl
anto-odontoid (AO) joint in 500 consecutive patients who underwent com
puted tomographies (CTs) of the brain or paranasal sinuses. Objectives
. The objective of the study was to determine age specificity of vario
us morphologic abnormalities related to osteoarthritis at the AO joint
in patients referred for CT primarily to exclude brain or sinus abnor
malities. Summary of Background Data. In all patients at least two axi
al slices through the AO joint were evaluated by two authors, and agre
ement was reached by consensus. Methods. Abnormal morphology was categ
orized into three groups: (1) osteophytosis; (2) obliteration of the j
oint space; and (3) transverse ligament calcification. Results. In a s
ignificant percentage of older individuals, some form of degenerative
disease is present. These changes show a roughly linear progression wi
th advancing age. Conclusion. Morphologic changes related to AO osteoa
rthritis are frequent coincidental findings in patients referred for C
T examination of the brain or paranasal sinuses. Awareness of the appe
arance and prevalence of degenerative changes in the AO joint on CT is
important because reports in-the literature and earlier findings of t
he authors indicate that these changes can be a source of suboccipital
headache.