Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a relatively common cause of inflammatory demyelinating lesions of the central nervous system. In an attempt to detect and characterize ongoing demyelination in MS patient brains, we used a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique, involving the fitting of a three-component model to the T2∗ relaxation behavior at high-field (7 T). This model allowed estimation of the amount of myelin water (and thus indirectly myelin content), axonal water, and interstitial water. In this study, 25 relapsing-remitting MS patients underwent a 7 T MRI from which 12 gadolinium-enhancing lesions, 61 non-enhancing lesions, and their corresponding contralateral normal appearing white matter (NAWM) regions were analyzed. In both enhancing and non-enhancing lesions, the amplitude of myelin water was significantly decreased, and interstitial and axonal water were increased relative to the contralateral NAWM. Longer relaxation time T2∗ of interstitial and axonal water, and lower frequency shift of axonal water, were also observed in both enhancing and non-enhancing lesions when compared to the contralateral NAWM. No significant difference was found between enhancing lesions and non-enhancing lesions. These findings suggest that the fitting of a three-component model to the T2∗ decay curve in MS lesions may help to quantify myelin loss.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 709-714 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | NeuroImage: Clinical |
Volume | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2015 |
Keywords
- Demyelination
- Multiple sclerosis
- T 2
- Water compartment
- relaxation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
- Neurology
- Clinical Neurology
- Cognitive Neuroscience