Sodium MRI of multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis ( MS ) is the most common cause of non‐traumatic disability in young adults . The mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration and disease progression are poorly understood , in part as a result of the lack of non‐invasive methods to measure and monitor neurodegeneration in vivo . Sodium MRI is a topic of increasing interest in MS research as it allows the metabolic characterization of brain tissue in vivo , and integration with the structural information provided by 1 H MRI , helping in the exploration of pathogenetic mechanisms and possibly offering insights into disease progression and monitoring of treatment outcomes . We present an up‐to‐date review of the sodium MRI application in MS organized into four main sections : ( i ) biological and pathogenetic role of sodium ; ( ii ) brief overview of sodium imaging techniques ; ( iii ) results of sodium MRI application in clinical studies ; and ( iv ) future perspectives. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.