Multiple Sclerosis

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Register here to gain access to SAGE's 500+ Journals Online

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
1352458507085129v1
14/4/455    most recent
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Rovaris, M.
Right arrow Articles by Filippi, M.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Rovaris, M.
Right arrow Articles by Filippi, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
This version was published on May 1, 2008
Multiple Sclerosis, Vol. 14, No. 4, 455-464 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1352458507085129

Large-scale, multicentre, quantitative MRI study of brain and cord damage in primary progressive multiple sclerosis

Marco Rovaris

Neuroimaging Research Unit, Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy

Elda Judica

Neuroimaging Research Unit, Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy

Jaume Sastre-Garriga

MS NMR Research Unit, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK

Alex Rovira

Department of Neuroimmunology Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain, Department of Radiology, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain

Maria Pia Sormani

DISSAL, Unit of Biostatistics, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

Beatrice Benedetti

Neuroimaging Research Unit, Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy

Tijmen Korteweg

Departments of Neuroradiology and Neurology, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Nicola De Stefano

Department of Neurology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

Zhaleh Khaleeli

MS NMR Research Unit, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK

Xavier Montalban

Department of Neuroimmunology Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain, Department of Radiology, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain

Frederik Barkhof

Departments of Neuroradiology and Neurology, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

David H Miller

MS NMR Research Unit, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK

Chris Polman

Departments of Neuroradiology and Neurology, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Alan J Thompson

MS NMR Research Unit, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK

Massimo Filippi

Neuroimaging Research Unit, Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy, m.filippi{at}hsr.it

Although the mechanisms underlying the accumulation of disability in primary progressive (PP) multiple sclerosis (MS) are still unclear, a major role seems to be played by `occult' tissue damage. We investigated whether conventional and magnetization transfer (MT) MRI may provide complementary information for the assessment of PPMS severity. Conventional and MT MRI scans from 226 PPMS patients and 84 healthy controls were collected for centralized analysis. The expanded disability status scale (EDSS) score was rated at the time of MRI acquisition. T2 lesion volume, normalized brain volume (NBV) and cervical cord cross-sectional area (CSA) were measured. Magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) histograms from whole brain tissue, normal-appearing white matter and grey matter (NAGM) were also obtained. Mean NBV, CSA and MTR histogram-derived metrics showed significant inter-centre heterogeneity. After correcting for the acquisition centre, pooled average MTR and histogram peak height values were different between PPMS patients and controls for all tissue classes (P-values between 0.03 and 0.0001). More severe brain and cord atrophy and MT MRI-detectable NAGM damage were found in patients who required walking aids than in those who did not (P-values: 0.03, 0.001 and 0.016). A composite score of NBV, CSA, whole brain and NAGM MTR histogram peak height z-scores was correlated with patients' EDSS (r = 0.37, P 0.001). Magnetization transfer MRI might provide information complementary to that given by conventional MRI when assessing PPMS severity. Sequence-related variability of measurements makes the standardization of MT MRI acquisition essential for the design of multicentre studies. Multiple Sclerosis 2008; 14: 455—464. http://msj.sagepub.com

Key Words: atrophy • MRI • primary progressive multiple sclerosis • grey matter


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?