Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2025
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Chronic Spinal Cord Compression
Published on: May 7, 2019
Longitudinal assessment of cervical spinal cord compartments in multiple sclerosis
Charidimos Tsagkas1, Antal Huck-Horvath2, Alessandro Cagol3
1Neurologic Clinic and Policlinic, Departments of Head, Spine and Neuromedicine, Clinical Research and Biomedical Engineering, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Translational Imaging in Neurology (ThINk) Basel, Departments of Head, Spine and Neuromedicine and Biomedical Engineering, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Research Center for Clinical Neuroimmunology and Neuroscience Basel (RC2NB), Departments of Head, Spine and Neuromedicine, Clinical Research and Biomedical Engineering, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Translational Neuroradiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, United States of America.
Background:
Although cervical spinal cord (cSC) area is an established biomarker in MS, there is currently a lack of longitudinal assessments of cSC gray and white matter areas.
Objective:
We conducted an explorative analysis of longitudinal changes of cSC gray and white matter areas in MS patients.
Methods:
65 MS patients (33 relapsing-remitting; 20 secondary progressive and 12 primary progressive) and 20 healthy controls (HC) received clinical and upper cSC MRI assessments over 1.10±0.28 years. cSC compartments were quantified on MRI using the novel averaged magnetization inversion recovery acquisitions sequence (in-plane resolution=0.67 × 0.67mm2), and in-house developed post-processing methods. Patients were stratified regarding clinical progression.
Results:
Patients with clinical progression showed faster reduction of cSC areas over time at the level of cSC enlargement (approximate vertebral level C4-C5) compared to stable patients (p<0.05). In addition, when compared to the rostral-cSC (approximate vertebral level C2-C3), a preferential reduction of cSC and white matter areas over time at the level of cSC enlargement (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively) was demonstrated only in patients with clinical progression, but not in stable MS patients and HC. Compared to HC, MS patients showed comparable changes over time in all cSC compartments.
Conclusions:
MS patients with clinical disease progression demonstrate subtle signs of a more pronounced tissue loss at the level of cSC enlargement. Future studies should consider larger sample sizes and more extended observation periods.
