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Updated: Nov 25, 2025
Positron Emission Tomography Imaging for In Vivo Measuring of Myelin Content in the Lysolecithin Rat Model of Multiple Sclerosis
Published on: February 28, 2021
Extended perfusion protocol for MS lesion quantification.
Eleftherios Kontopodis1,2, Kostas Marias3, Georgios C Manikis1,2
1Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas, Institute of Computer Science, Computational Bio-Medicine Laboratory, N. Plastira 100, Vassilika Vouton, GR-700 13 Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
A new extended dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) protocol, Snaps, improves detection of subtle blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. This method offers enhanced perfusion observation with minimal extra scan time.
Area of Science:
- Radiology and Imaging
- Neuroscience
- Medical Physics
Background:
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS) involves blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption.
- Accurate detection of subtle BBB changes is crucial for MS management.
- Conventional dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) has limitations in capturing subtle BBB dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a time-extended DCE-MRI protocol (Snaps) for improved BBB disruption detection in MS.
- To compare the Snaps protocol against a conventional DCE-MRI protocol using pharmacokinetic (PK) models.
- To assess the impact of extended acquisition time on perfusion observation and data accuracy.
Main Methods:
- Applied the Snaps time-extended DCE-MRI protocol to 24 active demyelinating lesions in 12 MS patients.
- Performed statistical analysis comparing Snaps with a conventional DCE-MRI protocol using three PK models.
- Analyzed goodness of fit (adj-R^2) to determine protocol performance and pixel detection rates.
Main Results:
- The Snaps protocol tripled the perfusion observation window with only a minimal increase in acquisition time (<2 min).
- Snaps detected 49% more pixels on average compared to the conventional protocol, identifying subtle BBB disruptions.
- The extended Tofts model demonstrated the highest fitting accuracy for both protocols.
Conclusions:
- The time-extended Snaps DCE-MRI protocol enhances the detection of subtle BBB disruptions in MS.
- This protocol provides valuable additional temporal perfusion information with minimal added scan time.
- The findings support the use of Snaps for more sensitive assessment of BBB integrity in neurological diseases.
