Magnetic resonance fingerprinting in multiple sclerosis.

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Quantitative MRI
• Biophysics

Background:

• Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease affecting white and gray matter.
• Assessing tissue properties in MS is crucial for understanding disease progression and treatment efficacy.
• Conventional MRI methods have limitations in quantifying subtle tissue changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate brain tissue properties using Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF) in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS).
• To compare MRF-derived T1 and T2 relaxation times between MS patients and healthy controls (HC).
• To explore the correlation between MRF parameters and clinical disability measures in MS.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 21 RRMS, 16 SPMS, and 9 HC.
• Acquisition of a fast imaging sequence with steady-state free precession (FISP)-based MRF at 3T.
• Measurement of T1 and T2 relaxation times in various brain regions, including normal-appearing white matter, gray matter, and lesions.
• Statistical analysis using ANCOVA adjusted for age and sex, and Spearman rank correlations.

Main Results:

• A stepwise increase in T1 and T2 relaxation times was observed from HC to RRMS to SPMS.
• Significant differences in T1 and T2 values were found between MS patients and HC in the frontal normal-appearing white matter, corpus callosum, and thalamus.
• T1 relaxation in the frontal normal-appearing white matter showed significant correlations with Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), timed 25-foot walk, 9-hole peg test, and paced auditory serial addition test.

Conclusions:

• MRF provides a clinically feasible quantitative method for characterizing tissue damage in MS.
• MRF-derived relaxation times can differentiate between MS subtypes and healthy controls.
• MRF parameters correlate with clinical disability, suggesting its potential as a biomarker for MS progression.