NMR studies in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis: factors which contribute to T1 and T2 values

To determine the factors which may alter NMR relaxation times in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions we measured the proton T1 and T2, specific gravity (SG), and histology in the central nervous system (CNS; 13-19 levels per animal) in the myelin basic protein (MBP) and CNS-induced acute and relapsing EAE models in 44 juvenile Hartley guinea pigs. In the MBP model, T1 is unchanged but T2 is prolonged before symptoms and pathological changes occur. T2 remains prolonged during the acute phase of MBP-induced EAE. In the acute CNS model, T1 and T2 were not different from control despite advanced pathological changes of inflammation and demyelination and changes in specific gravity, indicating a marked change in tissue water content. No single variable, pathological or SG, could predict T1 or T2 values in the CNS-induced model. In active disease in the MBP model, when edema occurs in the presence or absence of parenchymal infiltration, T2 values are increased. However, as the factors which influence tissue NMR characteristics are complex in these MS models, it is likely difficult to infer specific pathological events from MRI findings in patients with MS.