Revisiting brain atrophy and its relationship to disability in multiple sclerosis

Brain atrophy is a well-accepted imaging biomarker of multiple sclerosis (MS) that partially correlates with both physical disability and cognitive impairment. Based on MRI scans of 60 MS cases and 37 healthy volunteers, we measured the volumes of white matter (WM) lesions, cortical gray matter (GM)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PloS one 2012-05, Vol.7 (5), p.e37049-e37049
Main Authors:	Shiee, Navid, Bazin, Pierre-Louis, Zackowski, Kathleen M, Farrell, Sheena K, Harrison, Daniel M, Newsome, Scott D, Ratchford, John N, Caffo, Brian S, Calabresi, Peter A, Pham, Dzung L, Reich, Daniel S
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Adult Age Aged Ankle Atrophy Biology Biomarkers Brain Brain - pathology Brain research Brain stem Caudate nucleus Cognitive ability Cohort Studies Computer engineering Correlation coefficient Correlation coefficients Cortex Departments Disability Evaluation Female Health care Humans Hypertrophy Image processing Image segmentation Lesions Magnetic resonance imaging Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods Male Medical imaging Medicine Middle Aged Multiple sclerosis Multiple Sclerosis - pathology Neuroimaging Neurology NMR Nuclear magnetic resonance Physically disabled persons Public health Putamen Radiology Science Segmentation Severity of Illness Index Spinal cord Substantia alba Substantia grisea Thalamus Toe Young Adult
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Summary:	Brain atrophy is a well-accepted imaging biomarker of multiple sclerosis (MS) that partially correlates with both physical disability and cognitive impairment. Based on MRI scans of 60 MS cases and 37 healthy volunteers, we measured the volumes of white matter (WM) lesions, cortical gray matter (GM), cerebral WM, caudate nucleus, putamen, thalamus, ventricles, and brainstem using a validated and completely automated segmentation method. We correlated these volumes with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), MS Severity Scale (MSSS), MS Functional Composite (MSFC), and quantitative measures of ankle strength and toe sensation. Normalized volumes of both cortical and subcortical GM structures were abnormally low in the MS group, whereas no abnormality was found in the volume of the cerebral WM. High physical disability was associated with low cerebral WM, thalamus, and brainstem volumes (partial correlation coefficients ~0.3-0.4) but not with low cortical GM volume. Thalamus volumes were inversely correlated with lesion load (r = -0.36, p
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203