Quality and quantity of diffuse and focal white matter disease and cognitive disability of patients with multiple sclerosis.
OBJECTIVE
Using high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we investigated the relationships between white matter (WM) lesion volume (LV), normal-appearing WM (NAWM) normalized volume, WM-lesion and NAWM magnetization transfer ratios (MTRs), brain parenchyma fraction (BPF), and cognitive impairment (CI) in multiple sclerosis (MS).


METHODS
Twenty-four patients and 24 healthy volunteers (age, sex, and years of education-matched) underwent a 3.0 Tesla (3T) scan and evaluation of depression, fatigue, and CI using the Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function in MS (MACFIMS) battery.


RESULTS
In this clinically relatively well-preserved cohort of patients (median score on the Expanded Disability Status Scale=1.5), CI was detected on Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II), and Controlled Oral Word Association Test. MT data were available in 19 pairs on whom correlation analyses were performed. Associations were seen between SDMT and normalized NAWM volume (P=.034, r=.502), CVLT-II long delay and normalized NAWM volume (P=.012, r=.563), WM-LV (P=.024, r=.514), and BPF (P=.002, r=.666).


CONCLUSIONS
The use of 3T MRI in a sample of clinically stable MS patients shows the importance of WM disease in hampering processing speed and word retrieval.
Bomboi
Giuseppe
G
Neuroimmunology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892-1400, USA.
Ikonomidou
Vasiliki N
VN
Pellegrini
Stefano
S
Stern
Susan K
SK
Gallo
Antonio
A
Auh
Sungyoung
S
Evangelou
Iordanis E
IE
Agarwal
Jhalak
J
Pellicano
Clelia
C
Ohayon
Joan M
JM
Cantor
Fredric K
FK
Ehrmantraut
Mary
M
McFarland
Henry F
HF
Kane
Robert L
RL
Bagnato
Francesca
F
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005221:Fatigue / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000627:therapeutic use; D056784:Leukoencephalopathies / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests
D016899:Interferon-beta