title: Brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis: therapeutic, cognitive and clinical impact.
abstract: Multiple sclerosis (MS) was always considered as a white matter inflammatory disease. Today, there is an important body of evidence that supports the hypothesis that gray matter involvement and the neurodegenerative mechanism are at least partially independent from inflammation. Gray matter atrophy develops faster than white matter atrophy, and predominates in the initial stages of the disease. The neurodegenerative mechanism creates permanent damage and correlates with physical and cognitive disability. In this review we describe the current available evidence regarding brain atrophy and its consequence in MS patients.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Esclerosis Múltiple de Buenos Aires, Hospital Italiano Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Juan Ignacio
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.affiliation: Centro de Esclerosis Múltiple de Buenos Aires, Hospital Italiano Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Patrucco
authors.affiliation: Centro de Esclerosis Múltiple de Buenos Aires, Hospital Italiano Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Jimena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miguez
authors.affiliation: Centro de Esclerosis Múltiple de Buenos Aires, Hospital Italiano Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Edgardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cristiano
mesh_terms: D001284:Atrophy / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index