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7‐T MRI of the spinal cord can detect lateral corticospinal tract abnormality in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Author(s) -
CohenAdad Julien,
Zhao Wei,
Keil Boris,
Ratai EvaMaria,
Triantafyllou Christina,
Lawson Robert,
Dheel Christina,
Wald Lawrence L.,
Rosen Bruce R.,
Cudkowicz Merit,
Atassi Nazem
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.23720
Subject(s) - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , medicine , spinal cord , corticospinal tract , magnetic resonance imaging , pyramidal tracts , multiple sclerosis , central nervous system disease , hyperintensity , abnormality , anatomy , pathology , radiology , diffusion mri , disease , surgery , psychiatry
: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting lower and upper motor neurons. Degeneration of the lateral corticospinal tract (CST) is a key finding in ALS cervical spinal cord autopsies. We hypothesized that in vivo ultra‐high‐field MRI of the cervical spinal cord can detect abnormality in the CST. Methods : A patient with ALS (disease duration 23 months) and a healthy control were scanned at 7‐T MRI using a 19‐channel coil. Multi‐echo T 2 * ‐weighted imaging was performed in the spinal cord, covering C2–C6. Cross‐sectional resolution was 0.37 × 0.37 mm 2 . Results : We detected clear signal hyperintensity in both segments of the lateral CST in the ALS patient, which was significant when compared with the normal control subject ( P < 10 −7 ). Conclusion : We believe there are potential benefits of 7‐T MRI for increased sensitivity and spatial accuracy in characterizing pathology in the spinal cord. Muscle Nerve 47: 760–762, 2013