Purpose
To perform T2 relaxation time (T2) and magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) measurements in MS patients and correlate them with their clinical disability estimated by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) .
Methods and Materials
MR IMAGING 13 patients (7 males, 6 females,29.5yrs) with clinically definite MS were examined. 8 of them suffered from the relapsing-remitting subtype of MS, 3 from secondary progressive and 2 from primary progressive MS. 10 age-matched healthy volunteers (7 males,3 females,mean age:30.2yrs) were also investigated.Their clinical disability, at the time of the examination, was evaluatedby two Neurologistsusing the EDSS, which was ranged between 1.5-7.5 All experiments were conducted on a 1.5T MR scanner (Vision Plus, Siemens Medical System) At first a basic imaging protocol was...
Results
Mean MTR and T2 valuesof the different white matter areas that were measured are demonstrated on Table 1 .NAWMdemonstrates significantly lower MTR and highermean T2 values compared to NWM , and ,also, significantly higher MTR and lower mean T2 relaxation time values compared to DWM(Fig 1). Hypointense lesions demonstrate significantly lower MTRvalues but not significant different mean T2values compared to isointense lesions. There is no significant difference between MTR or mean T2 values of enhancing and non-enhancing lesions (Fig 2) Linear regression analysis between mean...
Conclusion
1.Strong correlation between MTR and mean T2 values is estimated in those white matter regions where either inflammation (DWM) or demyelination and axonal loss(black holes) predominates.2.Strong correlation is revealed between MTR or mean T2values and EDSS for ALL the white matters measurements, but no correlation for NAWM.3.Excellent correlation is demonstrated between MTR values and EDSS for DWM .4.Excellent correlation is, also, revealed between mean T2 and EDSS for isointense lesions.
References
1. Jackson JA, Leake DR, Schneiders NJ, et al. Magnetic resonance imaging in multiple sclerosis: results in 32 cases. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 1985; 6:171176.2. van der Knaap MS, Valk J. Multiple sclerosis. In: Magnetic resonance of myelin, myelination, and myelin disorders. 2nd ed. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag, 1995; 296313.3. Fazekas F, Barkhof F, Filippi M,et al. The contribution of magnetic resonance imaging to the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Neurology 1999;53:4484564. Ormerod I.E.C., Miller D.H., McDonald W.I. et al. The role of NMR imaging in the...
Personal Information
1.Personal information :Full Name:Eufrosini Z. PapadakiAge:39 yrsDate of Birth:January 6th 1964Place of Birth :Heraklion, Crete/GreeceNationality:Greek2.Education: DegreeUniversity-HospitalYears of graduationGrades M.D.University of Athens(Greece)June 1993 9/10Register in Radiology -General Hospital of AthensAlexandra"-University Hospital of Heraklion November 1993 -April 1995 May 1995-October1999 _Radiologist-University Hospital of Heraklion February 20003. Present Position :Working as scientific researcher at the Department of Radiology of the University Hospital of Heraklion Crete/Greece.