Gray Matter Changes in Demyelinating Disease: Correlations with Clinical Scores

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neurology
• Radiology

Background:

• Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is characterized by selective regional gray matter atrophy, not global atrophy.
• Understanding specific areas of gray matter loss is crucial for assessing disease progression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify specific gray matter volume changes in MS patients.
• To explore the relationship between gray matter atrophy and clinical motor outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and segmentation tools (FIRST, SIENAx) on MRI data.
• Recruited 9 MS patients and 9 healthy controls.
• Administered the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite and clinical assessments.

Main Results:

• Significant gray matter atrophy was observed in several regions, predominantly subcortical.
• Volume reductions in specific gray matter areas correlated with motor scores (9-hole peg test, 25-feet walk test) and EDSS.
• Subcortical atrophy was more pronounced than cortical atrophy.

Conclusions:

• Voxelwise analysis confirmed prominent subcortical atrophy in MS.
• Segmentation/volumetry methods corroborated VBM findings and quantified atrophy.
• The 25-feet walk test emerged as the strongest predictor of disease progression linked to gray matter reduction.