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Updated: Jun 15, 2026
Comprehensive Autopsy Program for Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis
Published on: July 19, 2019
Multiple sclerosis plaques may undergo continuous myelin degradation: a cross-sectional study with myelin and
Tomoko Maekawa1, Akifumi Hagiwara2, Kazumasa Yokoyama3
1Department of Radiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan. t-maekawa@juntendo.ac.jp.
Purpose:
We hypothesize that myelin is more susceptible to damage over time than axons. We investigated the association between the estimated duration from the onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) plaques and myelin- and axon-related quantitative synthetic magnetic resonance imaging (SyMRI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) metrics.
Methods:
We analyzed 31 patients with MS with 73 newly appeared plaques. Simple linear regression analysis was performed to assess the association between the estimated duration from the onset of plaques and quantitative MRI metrics. These metrics included the myelin volume fraction (MVF), axon volume fraction, and g-ratio in plaque and normal-appearing white matter.
Results:
MS plaques with a longer estimated duration from onset were significantly correlated with a lower MVF (slope = - 0.0070, R2 = 0.0970), higher g-ratio (slope = 0.0078, R2 = 0.0842) (all P values < 0.05).
Conclusion:
These results suggested that myelin in plaques undergoes continuous damage, more so than axons. Myelin imaging with SyMRI and NODDI may be useful for the quantitative assessment of temporal changes in MS plaques.
Insights
Myelin in multiple sclerosis (MS) plaques shows greater damage over time than axons. Advanced MRI techniques like SyMRI and NODDI can quantitatively assess these temporal changes in MS plaques.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Neurology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease characterized by demyelination and axonal damage.
- Understanding the temporal dynamics of myelin and axon integrity in MS lesions is crucial for disease monitoring and treatment.
- Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) offers potential for objective assessment of tissue microstructure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the differential susceptibility of myelin and axons to damage over time in MS plaques.
- To assess the association between the estimated duration of MS plaques and myelin- and axon-related MRI metrics.
- To evaluate the utility of Synthetic MRI (SyMRI) and Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI) for quantifying temporal changes in MS.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 73 newly appeared plaques in 31 MS patients.
- Utilized simple linear regression to correlate plaque duration with quantitative MRI metrics.
- Measured myelin volume fraction (MVF), axon volume fraction, and g-ratio in plaque and normal-appearing white matter using SyMRI and NODDI.
Main Results:
- Longer estimated plaque duration correlated significantly with lower myelin volume fraction (MVF).
- Higher g-ratio, indicating greater myelin damage relative to axonal diameter, was observed in older plaques.
- These findings were statistically significant (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
- Myelin within MS plaques appears to undergo continuous damage over time, at a greater rate than axonal damage.
- SyMRI and NODDI are promising quantitative imaging tools for assessing temporal microstructural changes in MS plaques.
- These imaging metrics may aid in the quantitative assessment of disease progression and treatment response in MS.
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