Dataset Information

Quantitative neuroimaging measures of myelin in the healthy brain and in multiple sclerosis.

ABSTRACT: Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques have been developed as imaging biomarkers, aiming to improve the specificity of MRI to underlying pathology compared to conventional weighted MRI. For assessing the integrity of white matter (WM), myelin, in particular, several techniques have been proposed and investigated individually. However, comparisons between these methods are lacking. In this study, we compared four established myelin-sensitive MRI techniques in 56 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) and 38 healthy controls. We used T2-relaxation with combined GRadient And Spin Echoes (GRASE) to measure myelin water fraction (MWF-G), multi-component driven equilibrium single pulse observation of T1 and T2 (mcDESPOT) to measure MWF-D, magnetization-transfer imaging to measure magnetization-transfer ratio (MTR), and T1 relaxation to measure quantitative T1 (qT1 ). Using voxelwise Spearman correlations, we tested the correspondence of methods throughout the brain. All four methods showed associations that varied across tissue types; the highest correlations were found between MWF-D and qT1 (median ? across tissue classes 0.8) and MWF-G and MWF-D (median ??= 0.59). In eight WM tracts, all measures showed differences (p

SUBMITTER: O'Muircheartaigh J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6590140 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Quantitative neuroimaging measures of myelin in the healthy brain and in multiple sclerosis.

O'Muircheartaigh Jonathan J Vavasour Irene I Ljungberg Emil E Li David K B DKB Rauscher Alexander A Levesque Victoria V Garren Hideki H Clayton David D Tam Roger R Traboulsee Anthony A Kolind Shannon S

Human brain mapping 20190115 7

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques have been developed as imaging biomarkers, aiming to improve the specificity of MRI to underlying pathology compared to conventional weighted MRI. For assessing the integrity of white matter (WM), myelin, in particular, several techniques have been proposed and investigated individually. However, comparisons between these methods are lacking. In this study, we compared four established myelin-sensitive MRI techniques in 56 patients with re ...[more]

PMID: 30648315

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Project description:ObjectivesThe clinical impact of brain microstructural abnormalities in multiple sclerosis (MS) remains elusive. We aimed to characterize the topography of longitudinal relaxation rate (R1) and quantitative susceptibility (χ) changes, as indices of iron and myelin, together with brain atrophy, and to clarify their contribution to cognitive and motor disability in MS.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, voxel-based morphometry, and voxel-based quantification analyses of R1 and χ maps were conducted in gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) of 117 MS patients and 53 healthy controls. Voxel-wise between-group differences were assessed with nonparametric permutation tests, while correlations between MRI metrics and clinical variables (global disability, cognitive and motor performance) were assessed both globally and voxel-wise within clusters emerging from the between-group comparisons.ResultsMS patients showed widespread R1 decrease associated with more limited modifications of χ, with atrophy mainly involving deep GM, posterior and infratentorial regions (p < 0.02). While R1 and χ showed a parallel reduction in several WM tracts (p < 0.001), reduced GM R1 values (p < 0.001) were associated with decreased thalamic χ (p < 0.001) and small clusters of increased χ in the caudate nucleus and prefrontal cortex (p < 0.02). In addition to the atrophy, χ values in the cingulum and corona radiata correlated with global disability and motor performance, while focal demyelination correlated with cognitive performance (p < 0.04).ConclusionsWe confirmed the presence of widespread R1 changes, involving both GM and WM, and atrophy in MS, with less extensive modifications of tissue χ. While atrophy and χ changes are related to global and motor disability, R1 changes are meaningful correlates of cognition.Key points• Compared to healthy controls, multiple sclerosis patients showed R1 and χ changes suggestive of iron increase within the basal ganglia and reduced iron and myelin content within (subnuclei of) the thalamus. • Thalamic volume and χ changes significantly predicted clinical disability, as well as pulvinar R1 and χ changes, independently from atrophy. • Atrophy-independent R1 and χ changes, suggestive of thalamic iron and myelin depletion, may represent a sensitive marker of subclinical inflammation.

Dataset Information

Quantitative neuroimaging measures of myelin in the healthy brain and in multiple sclerosis.

Publications

Quantitative neuroimaging measures of myelin in the healthy brain and in multiple sclerosis.

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