An investigation of the effect of brain atrophy on brain injury in multiple sclerosis
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Published on: July 19, 2019
Hamed Abdi1, Kamran Hassani1, Shahrokh Shojaei2
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medical Science and Technologies, Tehran Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract:
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that affects the brain and spinal cord. It is estimated that the average prevalence of MS is 35.9 cases per 100,000 and a total of 2.8 million people worldwide have MS. Brain atrophy is usually seen in the early stages of MS, and its progress is faster than healthy people. The present study was a numerical study that uses the Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model to investigate the effect of brain atrophy on brain injury in MS. Firstly, a healthy model was constructed from MRI images and validated by experimental data. Then three models with different degrees of brain atrophy, which showed the rate of brain atrophy in different years in MS patients, were developed to model the brain atrophy in MS. The models were subjected to two different types of impact conditions. Type I, which only produced a translational motion and the HIC value of 744, was applied to each model. Type II produced both translational and rotational motion. In this type of impact, the experimental kinematics, with peaks of 450 g for the translational acceleration and 26.2 krad/s2 for the rotational acceleration, were applied to the nodes that located in the center of gravity of the head models and the results were extracted from each one. According to the results of impact type I, the pressure of the frontal lobe of the brain is 149,647 Pa in the health model and 137,690 Pa in the model with severe atrophy.
Insights
This study used a fluid-structure interaction model to simulate brain injury in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Results show brain atrophy significantly impacts injury risk, highlighting the need for tailored safety measures.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Neuroscience
- Computational Mechanics
Background:
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system disease affecting millions globally.
- Brain atrophy is a common and progressive feature in MS patients.
- Understanding the impact of brain atrophy on injury risk is crucial for patient safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To numerically investigate the effect of brain atrophy on brain injury in multiple sclerosis (MS) using a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model.
- To quantify the biomechanical response of the brain under impact conditions in MS models with varying degrees of atrophy.
Main Methods:
- Developed a healthy brain model from MRI images, validated with experimental data.
- Created three MS brain models simulating different rates of brain atrophy.
- Applied two types of impact conditions (translational and combined translational-rotational) to the models.
Main Results:
- Simulations demonstrated altered pressure distribution in atrophied brains under impact.
- Specifically, frontal lobe pressure decreased in models with severe atrophy under Type I impact (149,647 Pa healthy vs. 137,690 Pa severe atrophy).
- The FSI model successfully predicted injury risk variations due to brain atrophy.
Conclusions:
- Brain atrophy in MS patients alters brain biomechanics and potentially influences injury severity.
- The FSI model is a valuable tool for studying traumatic brain injury in the context of neurodegenerative diseases like MS.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate the relationship between MS-related brain changes and injury outcomes.
