Mm. Tomiak et al., MAGNETIZATION-TRANSFER - A POTENTIAL METHOD TO DETERMINE THE AGE OF MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS LESIONS, American journal of neuroradiology, 15(8), 1994, pp. 1569-1574
Citations number
24
Categorie Soggetti
Neurosciences,"Radiology,Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
PURPOSE: To determine whether magnetization transfer contrast can diff
erentiate acute from chronic lesions in multiple sclerosis. METHODS: T
hirteen patients with multiple sclerosis and eight healthy patients we
re studied with MR using a 0.1-T system. Relatively T2-weighted spin-e
cho images were obtained without and with magnetization transfer contr
ast. The magnetization transfer effect of multiple sclerosis lesions w
as calculated and compared with the ages of the lesions. The magnetiza
tion transfer effect of normal-appearing white matter in patients with
multiple sclerosis was calculated and compared with the magnetization
transfer effect of white matter in healthy volunteers. Statistical an
alysis was performed. RESULTS: White matter in the healthy volunteers
had values from 0.40 to 0.45. Normal-appearing white matter in the pat
ients with multiple sclerosis had magnetization transfer effect values
ranging from 0.41 to 0.45. Multiple sclerosis plaques of less than 1
year's duration had magnetization transfer effect values ranging from
0.05 to 0.26; older plaques had values from 0.25 to 0.41. The differen
ce in the distributions of these values for acute and chronic multiple
sclerosis plaques is statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Current i
maging modalities do not differentiate acute multiple sclerosis lesion
s from chronic ones. Our data on magnetization transfer show a statist
ically significant difference in magnetization transfer effect values
between lesions of less than 1 year's duration and older lesions. The
different values may correspond to the histologic changes of multiple
sclerosis plaques over time. Magnetization transfer may be a reliable
method for determining the age of multiple sclerosis lesions.