title: 7-T MRI of the spinal cord can detect lateral corticospinal tract abnormality in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting lower and upper motor neurons. Degeneration of the lateral corticospinal tract (CST) is a key finding in ALS cervical spinal cord autopsies. We hypothesized that in vivo ultra-high-field MRI of the cervical spinal cord can detect abnormality in the CST.
  
  
  METHODS
  A patient with ALS (disease duration 23 months) and a healthy control were scanned at 7-T MRI using a 19-channel coil. Multi-echo T2*-weighted imaging was performed in the spinal cord, covering C2-C6. Cross-sectional resolution was 0.37 × 0.37 mm(2).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We detected clear signal hyperintensity in both segments of the lateral CST in the ALS patient, which was significant when compared with the normal control subject (P < 10(-7)).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We believe there are potential benefits of 7-T MRI for increased sensitivity and spatial accuracy in characterizing pathology in the spinal cord.
authors.affiliation: AA Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA. jcohen@polymtl.ca
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cohen-Adad
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Keil
authors.forename: Eva-Maria
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Ratai
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Triantafyllou
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dheel
authors.forename: Lawrence L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Wald
authors.forename: Bruce R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: Merit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cudkowicz
authors.forename: Nazem
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Atassi
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000473:pathology; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000473:pathology*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology*