title: Heterogeneity of cortical lesions in multiple sclerosis: an MRI perfusion study.
abstract: In this study, dynamic susceptibility contrast-magnetic resonance imaging (DSC-MRI) was used to quantify the cerebral blood flow (CBF), the cerebral blood volume (CBV), and the mean transit time (MTT) and to analyze the changes in cerebral perfusion associated with the cortical lesions in 44 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. The cortical lesions showed a statistically significant reduction in CBF and CBV compared with the normal-appearing gray matter, whereas there were no significant changes in the MTT. The reduced perfusion suggests a reduction of metabolism because of the loss of cortical neurons. A small population of outliers showing an increased CBF and/or CBV has also been detected. The presence of hyperperfused outliers may imply that perfusion could evolve during inflammation. These findings show that perfusion is altered in cortical lesions and that DSC-MRI can be a useful tool to investigate more deeply the evolution of cortical lesions in multiple sclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Peruzzo
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castellaro
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Calabrese
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Veronese
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rinaldi
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bernardi
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Favaretto
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bertoldo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001810:Blood Volume; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011859:Radiography