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In vivo quantitative whole‐brain T 1 rho MRI of multiple sclerosis
Author(s) -
Gonyea Jay V.,
Watts Richard,
Applebee Angela,
Andrews Trevor,
Hipko Scott,
Nickerson Joshua P.,
Thornton Lindsay,
Filippi Christopher G.
Publication year - 2015
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.24954
Subject(s) - multiple sclerosis , in vivo , medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , pathology , radiology , nuclear medicine , neuroscience , psychology , biology , psychiatry , microbiology and biotechnology
Background To apply quantitative whole‐brain T 1 ‐rho (T 1ρ ) and T 2 imaging to the detection and quantification of brain changes resulting from multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods Twenty‐three MS patients with clinically isolated syndrome (10) and relapsing remitting MS (13) phenotypes, compared with 24 age‐matched healthy controls were imaged at 3 Tesla. An axial T 1ρ ‐weighted three‐dimensional turbo spin echo sequence with a variable flip angle and fluid suppression was used. Spin‐lock times of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 ms were used. Corresponding T 2 maps were also acquired. Results Whole brain white matter (WM) T 1ρ maps were elevated compared with controls ( P = 0.002). WM lesion T 1ρ and T 2 values were highly correlated (r = 0.83), but T 1ρ demonstrated 25% better contrast to noise ratio ( P < 0.001). WM lesion T 1ρ correlated with disease duration. Gray matter T 1ρ was negatively correlated with the Expanded Disability Status Scale, r = −0.45, P = 0.03. Normal appearing gray matter and cortical gray matter lesions were negatively correlated on T 1ρ , but not on T 2 (r T1ρ = −0.63, p T1ρ = 0.03; r T2 = −0.17, p T2 = 0.6). Conclusion T 1ρ MRI demonstrates enhanced lesion contrast compared with T 2 , and in some cases may provide complementary information. T 1ρ may provide a useful measure of demyelinating processes in MS. J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2015;42:1623–1630.