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Magnetization Transfer Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Assessment of Neurological Diseases
Author(s) -
Filippi Massimo,
Rocca Maria A.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of neuroimaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1552-6569
pISSN - 1051-2284
DOI - 10.1111/j.1552-6569.2004.tb00255.x
Subject(s) - magnetic resonance imaging , magnetization transfer , medicine , multiple sclerosis , white matter , radiology , brain tissue , central nervous system , pathology , nuclear magnetic resonance , neuroscience , biomedical engineering , biology , physics , psychiatry , endocrinology
In several white matter diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), and in particular in multiple sclerosis, conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has proved to be sensitive for detecting lesions and their changes over time. However, con ventional MRI is not able to characterize and quantify the tissue damage within and outside such lesions. Magnetization transfer MRI (MT‐MRI) is a quantitative MRI technique with the potential to overcome this limitation and, as a consequence, to provide additional information about the nature and the extent of tissue damage. Metrics derived from MT‐MRI can quantify the structural changes occurring within and outside lesions visible on conventional MRI scans. The present review summarizes the major contributions given by MT‐MRI to provide an accurate in vivo picture of the heterogeneity of CNS pathology and, ultimately, to improve our ability to monitor the evolution of various neurological conditions.