BACKGROUND: The pathophysiological basis for differences in disability in patients with multiple sclerosis is unclear. METHODS: We used magnetic resonance imaging to examine whether differences in disability in cohorts of multiple sclerosis patients with similar T2-weighted lesion volume and disease duration were associated with a more destructive disease process in the more disabled patients. RESULTS: The benign and severely disabled groups had similar brain atrophy metrics and similar decreases of the neuronal marker, N-acetylaspartate, in the normal appearing white matter of the cerebrum on magnetic resonance spectroscopy examination in vivo. The severely disabled cohort had more spinal cord atrophy. CONCLUSION: The dissociation of spinal cord atrophy and cerebral atrophy between these two groups suggests that the difference between the more benign and more disabled groups cannot be explained by a more aggressive pathological process that is affecting the entire neuroaxis in a homogeneous fashion.
BACKGROUND: The pathophysiological basis for differences in disability in patients with multiple sclerosis is unclear. METHODS: We used magnetic resonance imaging to examine whether differences in disability in cohorts of multiple sclerosispatients with similar T2-weighted lesion volume and disease duration were associated with a more destructive disease process in the more disabled patients. RESULTS: The benign and severely disabled groups had similar brain atrophy metrics and similar decreases of the neuronal marker, N-acetylaspartate, in the normal appearing white matter of the cerebrum on magnetic resonance spectroscopy examination in vivo. The severely disabled cohort had more spinal cord atrophy. CONCLUSION: The dissociation of spinal cord atrophy and cerebral atrophy between these two groups suggests that the difference between the more benign and more disabled groups cannot be explained by a more aggressive pathological process that is affecting the entire neuroaxis in a homogeneous fashion.
Authors: D J Rigotti; O Gonen; R I Grossman; J S Babb; A Falini; B Benedetti; M Filippi Journal: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol Date: 2010-10-21 Impact factor: 3.825
Authors: W Rashid; G R Davies; D T Chard; C M Griffin; D R Altmann; R Gordon; A J Thompson; D H Miller Journal: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry Date: 2006-01 Impact factor: 10.154
Authors: K Y Neven; M Piola; L Angelici; F Cortini; C Fenoglio; D Galimberti; A C Pesatori; E Scarpini; V Bollati Journal: BMC Genet Date: 2016-06-18 Impact factor: 2.797