Local tissue damage assessed with statistical mapping analysis of brain magnetization transfer ratio: relationship with functional status of patients in the earliest stage of multiple sclerosis.
OBJECTIVE
In the early stage of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), conventional MR imaging parameters such as T2 lesion load fail to explain the clinical status of patients. In the present work, we aimed to determine the ability of magnification transfer imaging to better reflect the relationship between local tissue damage and functional status of MS patients.


METHODS
We performed a comparative statistical mapping analysis on brain tissue magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) data measured in 18 patients with clinically isolated syndrome suggestive of MS (CISSMS) and 18 matched control subjects.


RESULTS
In the patients with CISSMS, a pattern of significant low MTR values was observed in the white matter, corpus callosum, bilateral occipitofrontal fascicles, right fornix, right parietal white matter, external capsule, right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), right inferior longitudinal fasciculus, optica radiata, parietal white matter, right cingulum, gray matter, bilateral thalamus, bilateral caudate, right insula, and left Brodmann area (BA) 8. No correlation was found between local MTR decrease and Expanded Disability Status Scale score. Significant correlations between MTR and MS Functional Composite scores (Spearman rank test, P <.05) were observed in the left BA40, right SLF, right frontal white matter, splenium, and anterior corpus callosum. Local MTR values correlated with Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test scores in the left BA40, right BA4, right SLF, and splenium.


CONCLUSIONS
Statistical mapping analysis of brain MTR data provides valuable information on the relationship between the location of brain tissue damage and its functional impact in patients with MS, even in the earliest stage of the disease.
Ranjeva
Jean-Philippe
JP
Centre de Résonance Magnétique Biologique et Médicale, UMR Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, No. 6612, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille, France.
Audoin
Bertrand
B
Au Duong
My Van
MV
Duong
My Van Au
MV
Ibarrola
Danielle
D
Confort-Gouny
Sylviane
S
Malikova
Irina
I
Soulier
Elisabeth
E
Viout
Patrick
P
Ali-Chérif
André
A
Pelletier
Jean
J
Cozzone
Patrick
P
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000145:classification; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009716:Numerical Analysis, Computer-Assisted; D019580:Perforant Pathway / Q000473:pathology; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D013223:Statistics as Topic