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Updated: Jul 15, 2026
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Multiple Sclerosis at 7.0 Tesla
Published on: February 19, 2021
Multislice brain myelin water fractions at 3T in multiple sclerosis
Joonmi Oh1, Eric T Han, Michael C Lee
1Department of Radiology, University of California, San Francisco, California 94117, USA.
Purpose:
To evaluate a multislice nonlinearly-spaced 12-echo imaging sequence at 3T covering the supratentorial brain for the quantification of myelin water fraction (MWF) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.
Methods:
Eighty-nine patients with, or at risk of, MS (69 relapsing remitting MS [RRMS], 7 secondary progressive MS [SPMS], 13 clinically isolated syndrome [CIS]) and 28 controls were studied. Twelve-echo datasets were acquired using a multislice T2 prep spiral imaging sequence and were fitted using a nonnegative least squares algorithm. The mean MWF within normal appearing white matter (NAWM), contrast-enhancing (CE), and nonenhancing T2 lesions were calculated.
Results:
Mean MWF in white matter for controls was 11.3%. Mean MWF was significantly reduced in NAWM of MS patients (10.6%, P= .004) relative to controls. SPMS/RRMS patients with disease duration >5 years (10.3%) had lower MWF compared to CIS/RRMS with disease duration
Conclusions:
Using a multicomponent T2 sequence at 3T, a significant decrease in the supratentorial MWF was observed in MS NAWM and lesions relative to controls. The method was sensitive to detect white matter changes early in the disease process.
Insights
This study shows that a new 12-echo MRI technique can detect reduced myelin water fraction (MWF) in the brains of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, even in early disease stages.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Quantitative MRI
- Demyelinating Diseases
Background:
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system demyelinating disease.
- Accurate quantification of myelin water fraction (MWF) is crucial for understanding MS pathophysiology.
- Advanced MRI techniques are needed to detect early white matter changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a novel multislice, nonlinearly-spaced 12-echo imaging sequence at 3 Tesla (3T) for quantifying supratentorial brain MWF in MS patients.
- To assess the sensitivity of this sequence in detecting myelin alterations across different MS subtypes and disease durations.
- To compare MWF values in normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) and T2 lesions with those in healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Eighty-nine MS patients (including relapsing-remitting MS, secondary progressive MS, and clinically isolated syndrome) and 28 controls underwent 3T MRI.
- A multislice T2 preparation spiral imaging sequence with 12 echoes was utilized.
- Nonnegative least squares (NNLS) algorithm was employed for fitting the echo data to calculate mean MWF.
Main Results:
- Mean MWF in healthy white matter was 11.3%.
- Significantly reduced MWF was observed in MS patients' NAWM (10.6%, P = .004) compared to controls.
- MWF was markedly reduced in contrast-enhancing (26%) and nonenhancing T2 lesions (29%) relative to controls (P < .0001).
- Lower MWF was noted in patients with longer disease duration (>5 years) compared to those with shorter duration (
Conclusions:
- The evaluated 12-echo sequence effectively quantifies supratentorial MWF at 3T.
- Significant MWF reductions were confirmed in MS NAWM and lesions, indicating myelin damage.
- This quantitative MRI method demonstrates sensitivity to early white matter changes in MS, aiding in disease monitoring.
