title: Magnetic Resonance Phase Alterations in Multiple Sclerosis Patients with Short and Long Disease Duration.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The analysis of the MR phase provides additional information on the tissue microstructure. In multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions phase alterations may reflect different stages of inflammatory activity. Here we investigated lesion morphology in MS patients with short and long disease duration on T2* weighted, phase, magnitude and susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) at 7 Tesla (T).
  
  
  METHODS
  17 MS or clinically isolated syndrome patients with short (<60 months) and 11 with long (>60 months) disease duration underwent 7 T MRI. Lesions were subsequently analyzed side-by-side with regard to morphology and visibility on T2* weighted, SWI, magnitude and SWI-filtered phase images.
  
  
  RESULTS
  126 of 192 T2* weighted lesions (65.6%) were characterized by a phase alteration pattern, and hence could be differentiated on phase images. In detail, a significantly reduced proportion of lesions showing phase alterations was detectable in patients with longer disease duration (mean±SD 51 ± 37%, range 0-100%) compared to patients with short disease duration (mean ± SD 90 ± 19.5%, range 50-100%, p = 0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This cross-sectional study identified different patterns of phase changes in lesions of MS patients with short and long standing disease. Longitudinal studies are warranted to prove that MR phase imaging is useful in determining the activity and the developmental stage of individual MS plaques.
authors.affiliation: NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité -Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bozin
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Yulin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité -Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kuchling
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroradiology, Universitaetsmedizin Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; Department of Neurology and Center of Clinical Neuroscience, Charles University in Prague, 1st Faculty of Medicine and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dusek
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Sanjeev
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chawla
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Experimental Multiple Sclerosis Research Center, Charité Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Department of Neurology, Charité-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Lutz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Harms
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Experimental Multiple Sclerosis Research Center, Charité Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Department of Neurology, Charité-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Klemens
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ruprecht
authors.affiliation: Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility, Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany; Experimental and Clinical Research Center, Charité-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin and Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Thoralf
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Niendorf
authors.affiliation: NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité -Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Clinical and Experimental Multiple Sclerosis Research Center, Charité Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Department of Neurology, Charité-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Experimental and Clinical Research Center, Charité-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin and Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Friedemann
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.affiliation: Multiple Sclerosis Care Center, Department of Neurology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ilya
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kister
authors.affiliation: NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité -Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Department of Neurology, Asklepios Fachklinikum Teupitz, Teupitz, Germany.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sinnecker
authors.affiliation: NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité -Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Institute of Neuroradiology, Universitaetsmedizin Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility, Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany; Experimental and Clinical Research Center, Charité-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin and Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wuerfel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D013997:Time Factors