title: Guidelines from The Italian Neurological and Neuroradiological Societies for the use of magnetic resonance imaging in daily life clinical practice of multiple sclerosis patients.
abstract: MRI is highly sensitive in detecting focal white matter lesions in multiple sclerosis (MS). For this reason, it has been formally included in the diagnostic workup of patients with clinically isolated syndromes suggestive of MS, through the definition of ad hoc sets of criteria to show disease dissemination in space and time. MRI is used in virtually all clinical trials of the disease as a surrogate measure of treatment response. Several guidelines have been published to help characterizing the imaging features on conventional MR sequences of "typical" MS lesions and work has also been performed to identify "red flags" which should alert the clinicians to exclude possible alternative conditions. Despite this, the application of the available guidelines and criteria in daily life clinical practice is still limited and varies among and within countries (including Italy) due to regulatory issues and heterogeneity of MRI facilities. It is crucial for neurologists and neuroradiologists to become familiar with these criteria to improve the quality of their diagnostic assessment. In patients with established MS, the main problem is to define standard procedures for monitoring the course of the disease and treatment response. This review aims at providing daily life guidelines to clinicians for a correct application of MRI in the workup of patients suspected of having MS as well as in the monitoring of disease evolution in those with established MS. It also offers clues for the standardization of MRI studies and relative reporting to be applied at a national level.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy, m.filippi@hsr.it.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Filippi
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rocca
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bastianello
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Comi
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gallucci
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghezzi
authors.forename: Maria Giovanna
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Marrosu
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Minonzio
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pantano
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pozzilli
authors.forename: Gioacchino
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tedeschi
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trojano
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Falini
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: De Stefano
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis*