B Neurological Clinic, AHEPA University Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
Mult Scler. 2010 Apr;16(4):427-33. doi: 10.1177/1352458509359924. Epub 2010 Jan 19.
The pathological effects of multiple sclerosis are not confined to lesions; tissues that appear normal on conventional magnetic resonance imaging scans are also affected, albeit subtly. One imaging technique that has proven sensitive to such effects is T1-relaxation time measurement, with previous work demonstrating abnormalities in normal-appearing white matter and grey matter. In this work we investigated the evolution of T1-relaxation time changes in normal-appearing white matter and grey matter in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Three- and five-year follow-up data from 35 people with clinically early (a mean of 1.6 years from first clinical event) relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and 15 healthy controls were analysed. T1-relaxation time histograms were extracted from normal-appearing white matter and grey matter, and mean, peak height and peak location values were estimated. T1-relaxation time peak height declined in the multiple sclerosis normal-appearing white matter and grey matter, but not the control group (rate difference p = 0.024 in normal-appearing white matter, in normal-appearing grey matter p = 0.038); other T1-relaxation time changes were not significantly different between groups. Changes in T1-relaxation time measures did not correlate with increases in brain T2-weighted lesion loads or Expanded Disability Status Scale scores. These results suggest that the processes underlying changes in normal-appearing white matter and grey matter T1-relaxation times are not immediately linked to white matter lesion formation, and may represent more diffuse but progressive sub-clinical pathology in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
多发性硬化症的病理影响不仅局限于病变部位；常规磁共振成像扫描显示正常的组织也受到影响，尽管影响很细微。一种已被证明对这些影响敏感的成像技术是 T1 弛豫时间测量，之前的研究表明正常外观的白质和灰质存在异常。在这项工作中，我们研究了复发缓解型多发性硬化症中正常外观的白质和灰质的 T1 弛豫时间变化的演变。对 35 名临床早期（首次临床事件后平均 1.6 年）复发缓解型多发性硬化症患者和 15 名健康对照者的 3 年和 5 年随访数据进行了分析。从正常外观的白质和灰质中提取 T1 弛豫时间直方图，并估计平均值、峰高和峰位值。多发性硬化症正常外观的白质和灰质中的 T1 弛豫时间峰高下降，但对照组没有（正常外观白质中的差异率 p = 0.024，正常外观灰质中 p = 0.038）；其他 T1 弛豫时间变化在组间无显著差异。T1 弛豫时间测量的变化与脑 T2 加权病变负荷或扩展残疾状况量表评分的增加无关。这些结果表明，正常外观的白质和灰质 T1 弛豫时间变化的潜在过程与白质病变形成并不直接相关，可能代表复发缓解型多发性硬化症中更弥散但进展性的亚临床病理学。
