Multimodal quantitative MRI assessment of cortical damage in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

摘要

PurposeTo investigate magnetization transfer ratio (MTR), T-1 relaxation time, and proton density (PD) as indicators of gray matter damage in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), reflecting different aspects of microstructural damage and as imaging correlates of clinical disability. We aimed to determine which of these parameters may optimally quantify cortical damage, and serve as an imaging surrogate of clinical disability. In this study, cortical values of MTR, a surrogate for demyelination in MS, of PD, reflecting replacement of neural tissue by water, and of T-1, indicating a complex array of microstructural changes, were assessed in a group of RRMS patients in comparison to healthy controls (HC).