Snake-Eyes Appearance on MRI Occurs during the Late Stage of Hirayama Disease and Indicates Poor Prognosis

Figure 3

The deterioration of spinal cord atrophy and SEA were time-dependent. (a) The duration of disease was positively related to the ages of patients (F = 126.4, p < 0.0001, linear regression). The line of the linear regression (Y=0.0933X+17.17) closely resembles the line of the natural aging process from 17.17 years (Y=1/12X+17.17). (b) and (c) Both the age and duration in the SEA group were significantly higher than that in the non-SEA group (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0001, respectively, t-test). (d) and (e) The degrees of spinal cord atrophy demonstrated positive correlations with the patients’ ages (p = 0.0095, F = 7.207, linear regression) and duration of disease (p = 0.0176, F = 5.971, linear regression); therefore, spinal cord atrophy progressed gradually with time.

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