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Updated: Mar 24, 2026
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Multiple Sclerosis at 7.0 Tesla
Published on: February 19, 2021
Heterogeneity of Multiple Sclerosis Lesions in Multislice Myelin Water Imaging
Tobias Djamsched Faizy1, Christian Thaler1, Dushyant Kumar1,2
1Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Purpose:
To assess neuroprotection and remyelination in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), we applied a more robust myelin water imaging (MWI) processing technique, including spatial priors into image reconstruction, which allows for lower SNR, less averages and shorter acquisition times. We sought to evaluate this technique in MS-patients and healthy controls (HC).
Materials And Methods:
Seventeen MS-patients and 14 age-matched HCs received a 3T Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) examination including MWI (8 slices, 12 minutes acquisition time), T2w and T1mprage pre and post gadolinium (GD) administration. Black holes (BH), contrast enhancing lesions (CEL) and T2 lesions were marked and registered to MWI. Additionally, regions of interest (ROI) were defined in the frontal, parietal and occipital normal appearing white matter (NAWM)/white matter (WM), the corticospinal tract (CST), the splenium (SCC) and genu (GCC) of the corpus callosum in patients and HCs. Mean values of myelin water fraction (MWF) were determined for each ROI.
Results:
Significant differences (p≤0.05) of the MWF were found in all three different MS-lesion types (BH, CEL, T2 lesions), compared to the WM of HCs. The mean MWF values among the different lesion types were significantly differing from each other. Comparing MS-patients vs. HCs, we found a significant (p≤0.05) difference of the MWF in all measured ROIs except of GCC and SCC. The mean reduction of MWF in the NAWM of MS-patients compared to HCs was 37%. No age, sex, disability score and disease duration dependency was found for the NAWM MWF.
Conclusion:
MWF measures were in line with previous studies and lesions were clearly visible in MWI. MWI allows for quantitative assessment of NAWM and lesions in MS, which could be used as an additional sensitive imaging endpoint for larger MS studies. Measurements of the MWF also differ between patients and healthy controls.
Insights
A new myelin water imaging (MWI) technique accurately detects neuroprotection and remyelination in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. This advanced MWI method shows significant differences in myelin water fraction (MWF) between MS patients and healthy controls.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Neuroinflammation
- Demyelinating diseases
Background:
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic demyelinating disease affecting the central nervous system.
- Assessing neuroprotection and remyelination is crucial for monitoring MS progression and treatment efficacy.
- Current imaging techniques may have limitations in sensitivity and acquisition time.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a novel, robust myelin water imaging (MWI) processing technique for assessing neuroprotection and remyelination in Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
- To validate this advanced MWI technique in MS patients and compare findings with healthy controls (HC).
- To enable shorter acquisition times and lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) imaging.
Main Methods:
- Seventeen MS patients and 14 healthy controls underwent 3T MRI with MWI, T2w, and T1mprage sequences.
- Lesions (black holes, contrast-enhancing lesions, T2 lesions) were registered to MWI data.
- Myelin water fraction (MWF) was quantified in various white matter regions, including normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) and specific tracts.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in MWF were observed in all MS lesion types compared to healthy white matter (p≤0.05).
- MWF values differed significantly between lesion types.
- MS patients showed a significant reduction in NAWM MWF (37%) compared to healthy controls, except in the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum.
Conclusions:
- The advanced MWI technique provides a quantitative assessment of NAWM and lesions in MS.
- MWF measurements align with previous studies and clearly visualize MS lesions.
- This MWI approach can serve as a sensitive imaging biomarker for future MS clinical trials.
