title: Spinal-cord MRI in multiple sclerosis: conventional and nonconventional MR techniques.
abstract: Multiple sclerosis is a diffuse disease of the central nervous system, and MRI of the spinal cord is highly recommended in the clinical evaluation of patients suspected of having multiple sclerosis. Within the new diagnostic criteria, spinal cord MRI increases sensitivity and possibly specificity for MS, but further work is needed to investigate other criteria that may give greater weight to the presence of cord lesions in patients with clinically isolated syndromes or suspected relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Techniques should be further studied and validated in studies comparing these techniques with clinical status and histopathology, however.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, MR Center for MS Research, VU Medical Center, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands. j.bot@vumc.nl
authors.forename: Joseph C J
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Bot
authors.forename: Frederik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Barkhof
mesh_terms: D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology*