title: Abnormalities of cerebral blood flow in multiple sclerosis: a pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling MRI study.
abstract: Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a noninvasive technique that can measure cerebral blood flow (CBF). To our knowledge, there is no study that examined regional CBF of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients by using this technique. The present study assessed the relationship between clinical presentations and functional imaging data in MS using pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL). Twenty-seven patients with MS and 24 healthy volunteers underwent magnetic resonance imaging and pCASL to assess CBF. Differences in CBF between the two groups and the relationships of CBF values with the T2-hyperintense volume were evaluated. Compared to the healthy volunteers, reduced CBF was found in the bilateral thalami and right frontal region of the MS patients. The volume of the T2-hyperintense lesion was negatively correlated with regional CBF in some areas, such as both thalami. Our results suggest that demyelinated lesions in MS mainly have a remote effect on the thalamus and that the measurement of CBF using ASL could be an objective marker for monitoring disease activity in MS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Disorder Research, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1, Ogawa-Higashi, Kodaira, Tokyo 187-8502, Japan. ota@ncnp.go.jp
authors.forename: Miho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakata
authors.forename: Kimiteru
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Kouhei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kamiya
authors.forename: Norihide
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maikusa
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Satoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Obu
authors.forename: Takamasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Noda
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Araki
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamamura
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kunugi
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013113:Spin Labels; D013788:Thalamus / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D013113:Spin Labels