title: Rapid, high-resolution, whole-brain, susceptibility-based MRI of multiple sclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Susceptibility-based MRI offers a unique opportunity to study neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). In this work, we assessed a three-dimensional segmented echo-planar-imaging (3D-EPI) sequence to rapidly acquire high-resolution T2 -weighted and phase contrast images of the whole brain. We also assessed if these images could depict important features of MS at clinical field strength, and we tested the effect of a gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) on these images.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 3D-EPI acquisition was performed on four healthy volunteers and 15 MS cases on a 3T scanner. The 3D sagittal images of the whole brain were acquired with a voxel size of 0.55 × 0.55 × 0.55 mm(3) in less than 4 minutes. For the MS cases, the 3D-EPI acquisition was performed before, during, and after intravenous GBCA injection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both T2-weighted and phase-contrast images from the 3D-EPI acquisition were sensitive to the presence of lesions, parenchymal veins, and tissue iron. Conspicuity of the veins was enhanced when images were obtained during injection of GBCA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We propose this rapid imaging sequence for investigating, in a clinical setting, the spatiotemporal relationship between small parenchymal veins, iron deposition, and lesions in MS patient brains.
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroradiology Unit, Neuroimmunology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA satip@ninds.nih.gov.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sati
authors.affiliation: Integrated Research Facility, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Thomasson
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.affiliation: Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Biassou
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroradiology Unit, Neuroimmunology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Reich
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Butman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003287:Contrast Media; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005682:Gadolinium; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D005682:Gadolinium; D007501:Iron
keywords: MRI; Multiple sclerosis; brain imaging; contrast agent; iron; lesion; veins