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Magnetic resonance imaging measures of brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis
Author(s) -
Anderson Valerie M.,
Fox Nick C.,
Miller David H.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.20550
Subject(s) - atrophy , multiple sclerosis , magnetic resonance imaging , medicine , pathology , pathological , neurodegeneration , neuroimaging , disease , neuroscience , psychology , radiology , immunology , psychiatry
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been widely used to diagnose and monitor multiple sclerosis (MS). Although MRI‐visible lesions are a key feature of MS, they are thought to correlate poorly with clinical progression. Neurodegeneration is increasingly being recognized as an important factor in the pathogenesis of MS, and MRI measures of brain atrophy have been suggested as surrogate markers of neuroaxonal loss and disease progression. This pathology may be more relevant to the progression of disability than focal inflammation. A number of MRI‐based methods have been developed for the measurement of global and regional brain atrophy. Natural‐history studies of MS and clinically isolated syndromes suggestive of MS have observed atrophy in these subjects above that seen in controls, over periods ranging from three months to years. Brain atrophy has also been incorporated as an outcome measure in therapeutic trials of disease‐modifying treatments. This paper considers neuroaxonal loss and the pathological basis of brain atrophy, methods developed to quantify brain atrophy, the findings of natural‐history and therapeutic studies, the relationship of brain atrophy to disability and cognition, and the future research directions and clinical applications of brain atrophy measurements. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.