Association between MRI parameters and the MS severity scale: a 12 year follow-up study

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neurology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Multiple Sclerosis (MS) disability progresses over decades, necessitating long-term outcome studies.
• Short-term outcome prediction in MS using MRI parameters is established, but long-term predictive value remains unclear.
• Limited longitudinal studies hinder understanding of MRI's role in long-term MS progression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the predictive capability of brain MRI parameters for MS Severity Score (MSSS) after over 12 years.
• Assessing if early MRI metrics (within 3.3 years) correlate with long-term disease severity.
• Investigating the relationship between early MRI findings and overall disability progression in MS.

Main Methods:

• 46 MS patients underwent MRI scans within the first 3.3 years and were followed for 12.2 years.
• MRI parameters included lesion loads and atrophy measures; change and cross-sectional values were analyzed.
• Regression models used MRI parameters as independent variables and MSSS as the dependent variable.

Main Results:

• Brain atrophy and T1-hypointense lesion load changes significantly correlated with MSSS.
• A regression model with hypointense T1-lesion load change explained 20% of MSSS variance.
• Including disease type, age, and sex increased the explained variance to 34%.

Conclusions:

• MRI-derived measures of axonal loss are linked to increased overall MS disease severity.
• Early MRI parameters, particularly lesion load changes, offer significant predictive value for long-term MS outcomes.
• Longitudinal MRI analysis is crucial for understanding and predicting MS progression.