title: Ring-enchancement in multiple sclerosis: marker of disease severity.
abstract: Correlations between conventional MRI measures of disease activity and clinical disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) have been disappointing. Because ring-enhancing lesions may reflect a more destructive pathology, we tested their potential association with disease severity. We evaluated active lesions with regard to their enhancement pattern on serial magnetic resonance images in a cohort of 28 patients with relapsing-remitting MS. The percentage of ring-enhancing lesions correlated with EDSS, T2 lesion load and duration of disease and predicted the occurrence of relapses during the baseline period of observation as well as after 3 years of follow-up in multiple logistic regression analysis. The findings suggest that the pathological process reflected by ring-enhancing lesions may contribute to more severe clinical disease.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Morgen
authors.forename: N O
authors.initials: NO
authors.lastname: Jeffries
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: N D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Richert
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: McFarland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000473:pathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index