Original article
Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the cervical spine in Asian Indians — a multiracial comparison

https://doi.org/10.1016/0303-8467(96)00004-2Get rights and content

Abstract

Ossification of the Posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) has been thought to be a predominantly Japanese disease with few reports among the non-orientals and Caucasians. A prospective clinicoradiological study of 47 symptomatic Caucasoid Indians is reported. Twenty-seven patients presented with myelopathy, twelve with myeloradiculopathy and six with radiculopathy. ‘Total’ configuration of OPLL was the most frequent (70%). The most frequent location was at C3 and C4 levels. The thickness of OPLL ranged from 2.5 mm to 11.5 mm. Canal stenosis was most severe in patients with ‘total’ type of OPLL. Ossification of other spinal ligaments were seen in 50% of the patients. Twenty-one patients underwent decompressive laminectomy and twenty of them improved. The difference in the cervical canal diameters and the configuration of OPLL between the Japanese and our population (Caucasoid Indians) may be of therapeutic relevance.

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      OPLL has been associated with other paraspinal ligament disorders [1], including DISH, cervical spondylosis, and S-AS. Jayakumar et al. [19] reported that ossification of other spinal ligaments was seen in 50% of the OPLL patients. Some authors [1] demonstrated that 12 out of 43 cases were associated with calcification of other spinal ligaments.

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