scholarly journals Cervical cord myelin abnormality is associated with clinical disability in multiple sclerosis

2021 ◽  
pp. 135245852110017
Author(s):  
Lisa Eunyoung Lee ◽  
Irene M Vavasour ◽  
Adam Dvorak ◽  
Hanwen Liu ◽  
Shawna Abel ◽  
...  

Background: Myelin water imaging (MWI) was recently optimized to provide quantitative in vivo measurement of spinal cord myelin, which is critically involved in multiple sclerosis (MS) disability. Objective: To assess cervical cord myelin measurements in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and progressive multiple sclerosis (ProgMS) participants and evaluate the correlation between myelin measures and clinical disability. Methods: We used MWI data from 35 RRMS, 30 ProgMS, and 28 healthy control (HC) participants collected at cord level C2/C3 on a 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Myelin heterogeneity index (MHI), a measurement of myelin variability, was calculated for whole cervical cord, global white matter, dorsal column, lateral and ventral funiculi. Correlations were assessed between MHI and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), 9-Hole Peg Test (9HPT), timed 25-foot walk, and disease duration. Results: In various regions of the cervical cord, ProgMS MHI was higher compared to HC (between 9.5% and 31%, p ⩽ 0.04) and RRMS (between 13% and 26%, p ⩽ 0.02), and ProgMS MHI was associated with EDSS ( r = 0.42–0.52) and 9HPT ( r = 0.45–0.52). Conclusion: Myelin abnormalities within clinically eloquent areas are related to clinical disability. MWI metrics have a potential role for monitoring subclinical disease progression and adjudicating treatment efficacy for new therapies targeting ProgMS.

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 1029-1038 ◽  
Author(s):  
In-Young Choi ◽  
Phil Lee ◽  
Peter Adany ◽  
Abbey J Hughes ◽  
Scott Belliston ◽  
...  

Background: The oxidative stress hypothesis links neurodegeneration in the later, progressive stages of multiple sclerosis (MS) to the loss of a major brain antioxidant, glutathione (GSH). Objective: We measured GSH concentrations among major MS subtypes and examined the relationships with other indices of disease status including physical disability and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures. Methods: GSH mapping was performed on the fronto-parietal region of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS, n = 21), primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS, n = 20), secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS, n = 20), and controls ( n = 28) using GSH chemical shift imaging. Between-group comparisons were performed on all variables (GSH, T2-lesion, atrophy, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS)). Results: Patients with MS had substantially lower GSH concentrations than controls, and GSH was lower in progressive MS (PPMS and SPMS) compared with RRMS. GSH concentrations were not significantly different between PPMS and SPMS, or between RRMS and controls. Brain atrophy was significant in both RRMS and progressive MS compared with controls. Conclusion: Markedly lower GSH in progressive MS than RRMS indicates more prominent involvement of oxidative stress in the progressive stage of MS than the inflammatory stage. The association between GSH and brain atrophy suggests the important role of oxidative stress contributing to neurodegeneration in progressive MS, as suggested in other neurodegenerative diseases.


2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. S36-S45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimo Filippi ◽  
Marco Rovaris ◽  
Maria A Rocca

Patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) typically experience a progressive disease course from onset, leading to the accumulation of severe neurological disability. This is in contrast with the observation that the burden and activity of lesions on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain are much lower in patients with PPMS than in those with other less disabling forms of the disease. Studies with structural and functional MRI techniques are providing relevant contributions to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the accumulatio n of irreversible neurological deficits in patients with PPMS. The results of these studies underpin that the main factors possibly explaining the clinical/MRI discrepancy observed in patients with PPMS include the presence of a diffuse tissue damage that is beyond the resolution of conventional imaging, the extent of cervical cord damage, and the impairment of the adaptive capacity of the cortex to limit the functional consequences of subcortical pathology.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 1429-1437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim A Meijer ◽  
Nils Muhlert ◽  
Mara Cercignani ◽  
Varun Sethi ◽  
Maria A Ron ◽  
...  

Background: While our knowledge of white matter (WM) pathology underlying cognitive impairment in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) is increasing, equivalent understanding in those with secondary progressive (SP) MS lags behind. Objective: The aim of this study is to examine whether the extent and severity of WM tract damage differ between cognitively impaired (CI) and cognitively preserved (CP) secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) patients. Methods: Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion MRI were acquired from 30 SPMS patients and 32 healthy controls (HC). Cognitive domains commonly affected in MS patients were assessed. Linear regression was used to predict cognition. Diffusion measures were compared between groups using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). Results: A total of 12 patients were classified as CI, and processing speed was the most commonly affected domain. The final regression model including demographic variables and radial diffusivity explained the greatest variance of cognitive performance ( R2 = 0.48, p = 0.002). SPMS patients showed widespread loss of WM integrity throughout the WM skeleton when compared with HC. When compared with CP patients, CI patients showed more extensive and severe damage of several WM tracts, including the fornix, superior longitudinal fasciculus and forceps major. Conclusion: Loss of WM integrity assessed using TBSS helps to explain cognitive decline in SPMS patients.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Pagani ◽  
Maria A Rocca ◽  
Ermelinda De Meo ◽  
Mark A Horsfield ◽  
Bruno Colombo ◽  
...  

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by focal white matter damage, and when the brain is modeled as a network, lesions can be treated as disconnection events. Objective: To evaluate whether modeling disconnection caused by lesions helps explain motor and cognitive impairment in MS. Methods: Pathways connecting 116 cortical regions were reconstructed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tractography from diffusion tensors averaged across healthy controls (HCs); maps of pathways were applied to 227 relapse-onset MS patients and 50 HCs to derive structural connectivity. Then, the likelihood of individual connections passing through lesions was used to model disconnection. Patients were grouped according to clinical phenotype (113 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), 69 secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), 45 benign MS), and then network metrics were compared between groups (analysis of variance (ANOVA)) and correlated with motor and cognitive scores (linear regression). Results: Global metrics differentiated RRMS from SPMS and benign MS patients, but not benign from SPMS patients. Nodal connectivity strength replicated global results. After disconnection, few nodes were significantly different between benign MS and RRMS patients. Correlations revealed nodes pertinent to motor and cognitive dysfunctions; these became slightly stronger after disconnection. Conclusion: Connectivity did not change greatly after modeled disconnection, suggesting that the brain network is robust against damage caused by MS lesions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 1433-1444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Céline Louapre ◽  
Sindhuja T Govindarajan ◽  
Costanza Giannì ◽  
Nancy Madigan ◽  
Jacob A Sloane ◽  
...  

Background: Thalamic degeneration impacts multiple sclerosis (MS) prognosis. Objective: To investigate heterogeneous thalamic pathology, its correlation with white matter (WM), cortical lesions and thickness, and as function of distance from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Methods: In 41 MS subjects and 17 controls, using 3 and 7 T imaging, we tested for (1) differences in thalamic volume and quantitative T2* (q-T2*) (2) globally and (3) within concentric bands originating from the CSF/thalamus interface; (4) the relation between thalamic, cortical, and WM metrics; and (5) the contribution of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) metrics to clinical scores. We also assessed MS thalamic lesion distribution as a function of distance from CSF. Results: Thalamic lesions were mainly located next to the ventricles. Thalamic volume was decreased in MS versus controls ( p < 10−2); global q-T2* was longer in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) only ( p < 10−2), indicating myelin and/or iron loss. Thalamic atrophy and longer q-T2* correlated with WM lesion volume ( p < 0.01). In relapsing-remitting MS, q-T2* thalamic abnormalities were located next to the WM ( p < 0.01 (uncorrected), p = 0.09 (corrected)), while they were homogeneously distributed in SPMS. Cortical MRI metrics were the strongest predictors of clinical outcome. Conclusion: Heterogeneous pathological processes affect the thalamus in MS. While focal lesions are likely mainly driven by CSF-mediated factors, overall thalamic degeneration develops in association with WM lesions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marloes H. J. Hagens ◽  
Sandeep V. Golla ◽  
Martijn T. Wijburg ◽  
Maqsood Yaqub ◽  
Dennis Heijtel ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 428-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
JNP Zwemmer ◽  
JCJ Bot ◽  
B. Jelles ◽  
F. Barkhof ◽  
CH Polman

We present three patients with a clinical course and cerebrospinal fluid findings consistent with a diagnosis of primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). Extensive and repeated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations showed only diffuse abnormality in brain and spinal cord, but no focal lesions. We propose that these cases represent the most pure form of PPMS, even though according to currently applied criteria this diagnosis can not be made in the absence of focal lesions on MRI. Multiple Sclerosis 2008; 14: 428—430. http://msj.sagepub.com


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 205521731881551 ◽  
Author(s):  
L De Meijer ◽  
D Merlo ◽  
O Skibina ◽  
EJ Grobbee ◽  
J Gale ◽  
...  

Background Cognitive monitoring that can detect short-term change in multiple sclerosis is challenging. Computerized cognitive batteries such as the CogState Brief Battery can rapidly assess commonly affected cognitive domains. Objectives The purpose of this study was to establish the acceptability and sensitivity of the CogState Brief Battery in multiple sclerosis patients compared to controls. We compared the sensitivity of the CogState Brief Battery to that of the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test over 12 months. Methods Demographics, Expanded Disability Status Scale scores, depression and anxiety scores were compared with CogState Brief Battery and Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test performances of 51 patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis, 19 with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis and 40 healthy controls. Longitudinal data in 37 relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis patients were evaluated using linear mixed models. Results Both the CogState Brief Battery and the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test discriminated between multiple sclerosis and healthy controls at baseline ( p<0.001). CogState Brief Battery tasks were more acceptable and caused less anxiety than the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test ( p<0.001). In relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis patients, reaction time slowed over 12 months ( p<0.001) for the CogState Brief Battery Detection (mean change –34.23 ms) and Identification (–25.31 ms) tasks. Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test scores did not change over this time. Conclusions The CogState Brief Battery is highly acceptable and better able to detect cognitive change than the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test. The CogState Brief Battery could potentially be used as a practical cognitive monitoring tool in the multiple sclerosis clinic setting.


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