Magnetic resonance imaging as a tool to examine the neuropathology of multiple sclerosis

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neuropathology
• Multiple Sclerosis Research

Background:

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has advanced in vivo understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS) disease dynamics.
• Post-mortem MRI is explored for optimizing autopsy specimen selection in MS research.
• Active demyelinating lesions, crucial for MS pathogenesis studies, are infrequent in chronic MS autopsy material.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the application of post-mortem MRI in improving specimen selection during autopsies for multiple sclerosis research.
• To highlight how MRI-guided tissue sampling increases the detection rate of MS lesions.
• To discuss the potential of advanced imaging techniques in correlating with histopathological findings.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing post-mortem MRI to identify abnormalities not macroscopically visible or palpable.
• Employing MRI-guided tissue sampling to increase the yield of relevant MS lesions.
• Presenting the technical procedure for MRI-guided tissue sampling at autopsy.

Main Results:

• Post-mortem MRI significantly enhances the selection of autopsy specimens for MS research.
• A substantial proportion of MRI-detected abnormalities represent microglial activation or active demyelinating MS lesions.
• MRI-guided sampling reveals MS pathology, including spinal cord myelin loss, not apparent through gross examination.

Conclusions:

• MRI-guided tissue sampling at autopsy is effective in identifying and selecting valuable specimens for MS research.
• The technique increases the detection of subtle and active MS lesions, improving the study of MS pathogenesis.
• Future research can leverage the 3D and quantitative capabilities of MRI for correlation with histopathology.