title: Insights from magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: Recent years have witnessed impressive advancements in the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the assessment of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Complementary to the clinical evaluation, conventional MRI (cMRI) provides crucial pieces of information for the diagnosis of MS, the understanding of its natural history, and monitoring the efficacy of experimental treatments. Measures derived from cMRI present clear advantages over the clinical assessment, including their more objective nature and an increased sensitivity to MS-related changes. However, the correlation between these measures and the clinical manifestations of the disease remains weak, and this can be explained, at least partially, by the limited ability of cMRI to characterize and quantify the heterogeneous features of MS pathology. Quantitative MR-based techniques have the potential to overcome the limitations of cMRI. Magnetization transfer MRI, diffusion-weighted and diffusion tensor MRI with fiber tractography, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, T1 and T2 relaxation time measurement, and functional MRI are contributing to elucidate the mechanisms that underlie injury, repair, and functional adaptation in patients with MS. All conventional and nonconventional MR techniques will benefit from the use of high-field MR systems (3.0T or more).
authors: Neuroimaging Research Unit, Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: filippi.massimo@hsr.it.
authors: Massimo
authors: M
authors: Filippi
authors: Neuroimaging Research Unit, Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
authors: Arnaud
authors: A
authors: Charil
authors: Neuroimaging Research Unit, Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
authors: Marco
authors: M
authors: Rovaris
authors: Neuroimaging Research Unit, Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
authors: Martina
authors: M
authors: Absinta
authors: Neuroimaging Research Unit, Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
authors: Maria Assunta
authors: MA
authors: Rocca
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D013131:Spine / Q000473:pathology
keywords: MRI; Magnetic resonance imaging; diffusion tensor imaging; functional MRI; high-field MRI; magnetic resonance spectroscopy; magnetization transfer imaging