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Updated: Mar 6, 2026
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Multiple Sclerosis at 7.0 Tesla
Published on: February 19, 2021
Comparison of Diffuse Weighted Imaging and Fluid Attenuation Inversion Recovery Sequences of MRI in Brain Multiple
Reza Nafisi-Moghadam1, Abolghasem Rahimdel2, Tahereh Shanbehzadeh3
1Radiologist, Department of Radiology, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Objective:
Suitable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques from conventional to new devices can help physicians in diagnosis and follow up of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. The aim of present research was to compare effectiveness of Fluid Attenuation Inversion Recovery (FLAIR) sequence of conventional MRI and Diffuse Weighted Imaging (DWI) sequence as a new technique in detection of brain MS plaques.
Materials & Methods:
In this analytic cross sectional study, sample size was assessed as 40 people to detect any significant difference between two sequences with a level of 0.05. DWI and FLAIR sequences of without contrast brain MRI of consecutive MS patients referred to MRI center of Shahid Sadoughi Hospital, Yazd, Iran from January to May 2012, were evaluated.
Results:
Thirty-two females and 8 males with mean age of 35.20±9.80 yr (range = 11-66 yr) were evaluated and finally 340 plaques including 127(37.2%) in T2WI, 127(37.2%) in FLAIR, 63(18.5%) in DWI and 24(7.1%) in T1WI were detected. FLAIR sequence was more efficient than DWI in detection of brain MS plaques, oval, round, amorphous plaque shapes, frontal and occipital lobes, periventricular, intracapsular, corpus callosum, centrum semiovale, subcortical, basal ganglia plaques and diameter of detected MS plaques in DWI sequence was smaller than in FLAIR.
Conclusion:
Old lesion can be detected by conventional MRI and new techniques might be more useful in early inflammatory phase of MS and assessment of experimental treatments.
Insights
Fluid Attenuation Inversion Recovery (FLAIR) MRI sequences are more effective than Diffuse Weighted Imaging (DWI) for detecting brain lesions in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. Conventional MRI techniques remain valuable for identifying older lesions.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Neurology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS) diagnosis and monitoring rely on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques.
- Conventional and novel MRI sequences offer different capabilities for visualizing MS-related brain lesions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of Fluid Attenuation Inversion Recovery (FLAIR) and Diffuse Weighted Imaging (DWI) sequences in detecting brain plaques in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients.
- To evaluate the diagnostic utility of conventional versus newer MRI techniques for MS.
Main Methods:
- An analytical cross-sectional study involving 40 consecutive MS patients.
- Comparison of brain MRI scans using conventional FLAIR and novel DWI sequences without contrast enhancement.
- Evaluation of plaque detection across different sequences, lesion shapes, and brain locations.
Main Results:
- FLAIR sequences detected significantly more MS brain plaques (37.2%) compared to DWI (18.5%).
- FLAIR was superior in identifying various plaque shapes and locations, including periventricular and subcortical areas.
- MS plaques detected by DWI were generally smaller in diameter than those seen with FLAIR.
Conclusions:
- Conventional MRI sequences like FLAIR are effective for detecting established MS lesions.
- Newer techniques such as DWI may offer advantages in visualizing early inflammatory MS activity and assessing treatment responses.
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