Premium
Quantitative pathological evidence for axonal loss in normal appearing white matter in multiple sclerosis
Author(s) -
Evangelou Nikos,
Esiri Margaret M.,
Smith Steve,
Palace Jackie,
Matthews Paul M.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/1531-8249(200003)47:3<391::aid-ana20>3.0.co;2-j
Subject(s) - white matter , corpus callosum , multiple sclerosis , atrophy , axon , pathological , pathology , anatomy , medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology , psychiatry
We assessed axonal loss in the normal appearing white matter of the corpus callosum in postmortem brains of patients with multiple sclerosis, using quantitative measures of both axonal density and white matter atrophy. The calculated total number of axons was reduced significantly (mean ± SD, 5.4 × 10 7 ± 3.1 × 10 7 ) compared with normal controls (11.6 × 10 7 ± 2.2 × 10 7 , p = 0.001) with a reduction both in axonal density (median, 34%; range, 16–56%; p = 0.004) and area (mean ± SD: multiple sclerosis, 584 ± 170 mm 2 ; controls, 871 ± 163 mm 2 ; p = 0.004). These results confirm substantial axonal loss in the normal appearing white matter and demonstrate that measures of both axonal density and white matter volume are necessary to appreciate the full extent of axonal loss. Ann Neurol 2000;47:391–395