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Selected Publication:
Weiss, V.
Age-dependent closure of cranial growth plates
Humanmedizin; [ Diplomarbeit ] Graz Medical University; 2017. pp.
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- Authors Med Uni Graz:
- Advisor:
- Sorantin Erich
- Tschauner Sebastian
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- Abstract:
- The age-dependent fusion of the cranial bones and the ossification of the cranial sutures have been at the discussion and research point since the 16th century. Studies on the ossification patterns of the sutures have been published in various fields like anthropology, forensics and radiology. (1–6) This retrospective study is intended to show the age-dependent closure of the cranial sutures by radiological imaging of the skull. For this purpose, an objective evaluation score (OES) was established, that describes the ossification of the sutures by a score point system based on objective parameters. A subjective evaluation score (SES) described the same measuring areas for subsequent comparison. A total of 99 patients were divided into 6 age groups: 0 to<1 years, 1 to <5 years, 5 to <10 years, 10 to <14 years, 14 to <18 years and 18-99 years. Cranial CT- and MRI- high resolution images were used to measure and score selected sutures of the skull cap (metopic suture, sagittal suture and lambdoid suture) and skull base (sphenooccipital suture, sphenosquamous suture and occipitomastoid suture). In addition, the CT images were used to measure the width of the sutures. In the statistical evaluations of the CT measurements, there was a significant difference from the objective to the subjective evaluation score (p=0). This result underlines the necessity of a method based on measurements. Significant differences between the age groups could mainly be shown using CT images in the means of total OES, means of skull cap OES and means of skull base OES as well as in means of the suture OES (p<0,05). A special interest was the comparison of adolescents aged 14 to <18 years and adults aged 18 to 99 years. There was a significant difference (p=0) revealed between the mean of total OES points of adolescents (201 ±4) and the mean of total OES of adults (231 ±1). There was also a difference between adolescents and adults in the mean of the skull cap OES (p=0,013) and mean of the skull base OES (p=0), as well as in the means of OES of individual sutures (p<0,05). The results of the MRI measurements of 26 patients revealed statistical differences in means of metopic suture OES and sphenooccipital suture OES (p<0,05), which showed a similar ossification pattern of these sutures as in CT measurements. Significant differences in the sutures ossification in the individual age groups were revealed. A retrograde age determination of an individual skull could be made by group allocation using statistically very different groups of this study.