Ventricular enlargement in MS: one-year change at various stages of disease.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate ventricular enlargement (VE) over 1 year at three different stages of multiple sclerosis (MS).


METHODS
A semi-automated technique for measuring VE was applied to MRI scans in 26 patients with clinically isolated syndromes (CIS) suggestive of MS, 30 with early relapse-onset MS of 1 year duration, 41 with established relapsing remitting (RR) MS, and 23 with secondary progressive (SP) MS.


RESULTS
VE at 1 year was seen in early MS (median increase 0.3 mL [p = 0.003]), RRMS (median increase 0.5 mL [p = 0.001]), and SPMS (median increase 1.1 mL [p = 0.001]). Allowing for age there was more VE in the SPMS group (p = 0.005). No VE was observed in the CIS only group (median decrease -0.001 mL [p = 0.829]). Significant increases in T2 and T1 hypointense lesion load volume were seen in all MS subgroups: there were no differences between the groups in T2 volume increase but there was a larger increase in T1 hypointense lesion volume in the SPMS group compared with early RRMS.


CONCLUSIONS
Ventricular enlargement is a sensitive measure of progressive cerebral atrophy that is seen at all stages of multiple sclerosis (MS) and is more marked in secondary progressive than relapsing remitting MS.
Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
C M
CM
Dalton
K A
KA
Miszkiel
P W
PW
O'Connor
G T
GT
Plant
G P A
GP
Rice
D H
DH
Miller
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001331:Automation; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000473:pathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000473:pathology*; D013997:Time Factors