title: No association between conventional brain MR imaging and chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency in multiple sclerosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  CCSVI has been reported to occur at high frequency in MS. Its significance in relation to MR imaging parameters also needs to be determined, both in patients with MS and HCs. Therefore, this study determined the associations of CCSVI and conventional MR imaging outcomes in patients with MS and in HCs.
  
  
  METHODS
  T2, T1, and gadolinium lesion number, LV, and brain atrophy were assessed on 3T MR imaging in 301 subjects, of whom 162 had RRMS, 66 had secondary-progressive MS subtype, and 73 were HCs. CCSVI was assessed using extracranial and transcranial Doppler evaluation. The MR imaging measure differences were explored with 27 borderline cases for CCSVI, added to both the negative and positive CCSVI groups to assess sensitivity of the results of these cases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant differences between subjects with and without CCSVI were found in any of the individual diagnostic subgroups or MS disease subtypes for lesion burden and atrophy measures, independently of the CCSVI classification criteria used, except for a trend for higher T2 lesion number (irrespective of how borderline cases were classified) and lower brain volume (when borderline cases were included in the positive group) in patients with RRMS with CCSVI. No CCSVI or MR imaging differences were found between 26 HCs with, or 47 without, a familial relationship.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CCSVI is not associated with more severe lesion burden or brain atrophy in patients with MS or in HCs.
authors.affiliation: Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Department of Neurology, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA. rzivadinov@bnac.net
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zivadinov
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cutter
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Marr
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramanathan
authors.forename: R H B
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Benedict
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bergsland
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carl
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hojnacki
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Willis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cherneva
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Dwyer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Weinstock-Guttman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002550:Cerebral Veins / Q000473:pathology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology; D014689:Venous Insufficiency / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*