Myelin and axon pathology in multiple sclerosis assessed by myelin water and multi-shell diffusion imaging

Damage to the myelin sheath and the neuroaxonal unit is a cardinal feature of multiple sclerosis; however, a detailed characterization of the interaction between myelin and axon damage in vivo remains challenging. We applied myelin water and multi-shell diffusion imaging to quantify the relative dam...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain (London, England : 1878) England : 1878), 2021-07, Vol.144 (6), p.1684-1696
Main Authors: Rahmanzadeh, Reza, Lu, Po-Jui, Barakovic, Muhamed, Weigel, Matthias, Maggi, Pietro, Nguyen, Thanh D, Schiavi, Simona, Daducci, Alessandro, La Rosa, Francesco, Schaedelin, Sabine, Absinta, Martina, Reich, Daniel S, Sati, Pascal, Wang, Yi, Cuadra, Meritxell Bach, Radue, Ernst-Wilhelm, Kuhle, Jens, Kappos, Ludwig, Granziera, Cristina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Original
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Damage to the myelin sheath and the neuroaxonal unit is a cardinal feature of multiple sclerosis; however, a detailed characterization of the interaction between myelin and axon damage in vivo remains challenging. We applied myelin water and multi-shell diffusion imaging to quantify the relative damage to myelin and axons (i) among different lesion types; (ii) in normal-appearing tissue; and (iii) across multiple sclerosis clinical subtypes and healthy controls. We also assessed the relation of focal myelin/axon damage with disability and serum neurofilament light chain as a global biological measure of neuroaxonal damage. Ninety-one multiple sclerosis patients (62 relapsing-remitting, 29 progressive) and 72 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Differences in myelin water fraction and neurite density index were substantial when lesions were compared to healthy controls and normal-appearing MS tissue: both white matter and cortical lesions exhibited a decreased myelin water fraction and neurite density index compared with healthy (P < 0.0001) and peri-plaque white matter (P 
ISSN:0006-8950
1460-2156
DOI:10.1093/brain/awab088