Evidence for neuroprotection and remyelination using imaging techniques.

MRI is used routinely in clinical practice and pharmaceutical trials to measure disease activity and assess the effects of treatment in multiple sclerosis. Conventional MRI techniques sensitively detect inflammation, demyelination, and tissue injury. Less conventional imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance spectroscopy and magnetization transfer imaging, and advanced image processing to quantify structural changes can provide more specific and inherently quantitative markers of the pathologic processes underlying the accumulation of disease burden and the progression of clinical disability. Together, these techniques can assess both the anti-inflammatory and the neuroprotective effects of immunomodulatory therapies.