In the current scenario, with emerging treatment strategies being developed for the management of disc degeneration, quantitative techniques that evaluate the changes in the water and proteoglycan content of the disc become essential. MRI T2 mapping is a non-invasive quantitative evaluation method that offers high reproducibility.

This study provides detailed data about T2 relaxation times, at 3.0 T, in lumbar intervertebral discs at different stages of degeneration and provides with the baseline normative data on T2 values for Indian population at different grades of degeneration.

This method of segmental quantitative T2 evaluation seems to be able to characterize the different tissue compartments within the intervertebral disc, i.e., the annulus fibrosus and the nucleus pulposus as well as is efficient to differentiate the degrees of disc degeneration quantitatively. T2 mapping reflects changes in IVD composition, with comparably high spatial resolution. The results also indicated a negative correlation between increasing grade of Pfirrmann morphological grading and quantitative T2 relaxation values of Nucleus Pulposus. This is in concordance with previously done studies and proves to be an evidence of the potential of quantitative methods like T2 mapping as a classification system for the detection of early degeneration in intervertebral discs. 

In conclusion, T2 mapping techniques are sensitive and feasible method for quantifying early intervertebral disc degeneration, especially when such changes are not visible in conventional MRI sequences. Adding T2 mapping to conventional MRI protocol is highly recommended to rule out IVDD.

T2 mapping could play an important role in future clinical studies (e.g., before and after different therapies), as well as in clinical practice for monitoring of changes in tissue composition.