In multiple sclerosis (MS), a clinicoradiological paradox exists whereby clinical and MRI measures show poor correlation. New findings suggest that quantitative imaging to assess microstructural changes in the spinal cords of patient with MS could overcome this paradox, and provide novel markers to monitor disease progression.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Filippi, M. & Rocca, M. A. Novel MRI approaches to assess patients with multiple sclerosis. Curr. Opin. Neurol. 23, 212–217 (2010).
Rocca, M. A. et al. Thalamic damage and long-term progression of disability in multiple sclerosis. Radiology 257, 463–469 (2010).
Oh, J. et al. Spinal cord quantitative MRI discriminates between disability levels in multiple sclerosis. Neurology 80, 540–547 (2013).
Rocca, M. A. et al. A multicenter assessment of cervical cord atrophy among MS clinical phenotypes. Neurology 76, 2096–2102 (2011).
Evangelou, N., DeLuca, G. C., Owens, T. & Esiri, M. M. Pathological study of spinal cord atrophy in multiple sclerosis suggests limited role of local lesions. Brain 128, 29–34 (2005).
Rocca, M. A. et al. Voxel-wise mapping of cervical cord damage in multiple sclerosis patients with different clinical phenotypes. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 84, 359–41 (2013).
Agosta, F. et al. In vivo assessment of cervical cord damage in MS patients: a longitudinal diffusion tensor MRI study. Brain 130, 2211–2219 (2007).
Newsome, S. D., Wang, J. I., Kang, J. Y., Calabresi, P. A. & Zackowski, K. M. Quantitative measures detect sensory and motor impairments in multiple sclerosis. J. Neurol. Sci. 305, 103–111 (2011).
Oh, J. et al. Multiparametric MRI correlates of sensorimotor function in the spinal cord in multiple sclerosis. Mult. Scler. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1352458512456614.
Agosta, F., Pagani, E., Caputo, D. & Filippi, M. Associations between cervical cord gray matter damage and disability in patients with multiple sclerosis. Arch. Neurol. 64, 1302–1305 (2007).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
M. Filippi serves on scientific advisory boards for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Genmab A/S; has received funding for travel from Bayer Schering Pharma, Biogen Idec, Genmab A/S, Merck Serono, and Teva Pharmaceutical; serves as a consultant to Bayer Schering Pharma, Biogen Idec, Genmab A/S, Merck Serono, and Teva Pharmaceutical; serves on speakers' bureaus for Bayer Schering Pharma, Biogen Idec, Genmab A/S, Merck Serono, and Teva Pharmaceutical; and receives research support from Bayer Schering Pharma, Biogen Idec, Genmab A/S, Merck Serono, Teva Pharmaceutical. M. A. Rocca serves as a consultant to Bayer Schering Pharma; and has received speakers' fees from Biogen Idec.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Filippi, M., Rocca, M. Linking disability and spinal cord imaging outcomes in MS. Nat Rev Neurol 9, 189–190 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2013.40
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2013.40
This article is cited by
-
A longitudinal MRI study of cervical cord atrophy in multiple sclerosis
Journal of Neurology (2015)