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Updated: Mar 20, 2026
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Multiple Sclerosis at 7.0 Tesla
Published on: February 19, 2021
Magnetization transfer ratio is decreased in the sciatic nerve of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple
Kira Göldner1, Mirjam Korporal-Kuhnke2, Andrea Viehöver2
1Department of Neuroradiology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Department of Radiology and Neuroradiology, Klinikum Darmstadt, Grafenstrasse 9, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany.
Background:
While multiple sclerosis (MS) is traditionally regarded as restricted to the central nervous system (CNS), an involvement of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) has been previously detected by histopathology and magnetic resonance neurography (MRN). In the CNS, magnetization transfer contrast (MTC) imaging correlates with areas of demyelination in MS. Here, we aim to characterize and quantify peripheral nerve involvement in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) by MTC imaging in correlation with demographic, clinical, and electrophysiologic data.
Methods:
Sixty RRMS patients and 60 age- and sex-matched healthy controls prospectively underwent MTC imaging in a 3.0 Tesla MR scanner. Two axial three-dimensional gradient-echo sequences with and without an off-resonance saturation rapid frequency pulse were conducted at the right mid- to distal thigh. Sciatic nerve regions of interest were manually delineated on ten consecutive axial slices with subsequent evaluation of the magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) of the sciatic nerve. Detailed neurologic and electrophysiologic examinations were conducted in all RRMS patients.
Results:
Sciatic nerve MTR was lower in RRMS patients (27.2 ± 0.5%) than in controls (29.5 ± 0.4%; p = 0.0002) and inversely correlated with the duration of symptoms, the expanded disability status scale, and the distal motor latency of the tibial nerve in RRMS patients as well as with age and the body mass index in controls.
Conclusions:
Sciatic nerve MTR differentiates between RRMS patients and controls and correlates with important clinical and electrophysiologic data suggesting clinical relevance of an MTR decrease in the PNS. Our results provide further evidence of peripheral nerve involvement in RRMS and point towards peripheral co-demyelination.
