title: Comparison of Diffuse Weighted Imaging and Fluid Attenuation Inversion Recovery Sequences of MRI in Brain Multiple Sclerosis Plaques Detection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Suitable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques from conventional to new devices can help physicians in diagnosis and follow up of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. The aim of present research was to compare effectiveness of Fluid Attenuation Inversion Recovery (FLAIR) sequence of conventional MRI and Diffuse Weighted Imaging (DWI) sequence as a new technique in detection of brain MS plaques.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this analytic cross sectional study, sample size was assessed as 40 people to detect any significant difference between two sequences with a level of 0.05. DWI and FLAIR sequences of without contrast brain MRI of consecutive MS patients referred to MRI center of Shahid Sadoughi Hospital, Yazd, Iran from January to May 2012, were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-two females and 8 males with mean age of 35.20±9.80 yr (range = 11-66 yr) were evaluated and finally 340 plaques including 127(37.2%) in T2WI, 127(37.2%) in FLAIR, 63(18.5%) in DWI and 24(7.1%) in T1WI were detected. FLAIR sequence was more efficient than DWI in detection of brain MS plaques, oval, round, amorphous plaque shapes, frontal and occipital lobes, periventricular, intracapsular, corpus callosum, centrum semiovale, subcortical, basal ganglia plaques and diameter of detected MS plaques in DWI sequence was smaller than in FLAIR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Old lesion can be detected by conventional MRI and new techniques might be more useful in early inflammatory phase of MS and assessment of experimental treatments.
authors.affiliation: Radiologist, Department of Radiology, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nafisi-Moghadam
authors.affiliation: Neurologist, Department of Neurology, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
authors.forename: Abolghasem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahimdel
authors.affiliation: Radiologist.
authors.forename: Tahereh
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shanbehzadeh
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Neurologist, Department of Pediatrics, Growth Disorders of Children Research Center , Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
authors.forename: Razieh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fallah
keywords: Diffuse Weighted Imaging; Fluid Attenuation Inversion Recovery; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Multiple Sclerosis