Myelin heterogeneity for assessing normal appearing white matter myelin damage in multiple sclerosis.

Background And Purpose: Conventional MRI measures of multiple sclerosis (MS) disease severity, such as lesion volume and brain atrophy, do not provide information about microstructural tissue changes, which may be driving physical and cognitive progression. Myelin damage in normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) is likely an important contributor to MS disability. Myelin water fraction (MWF) provides quantitative measurements of myelin.

Autoimmune storm following alemtuzumab.

Alemtuzumab has been associated with the emergence of secondary autoimmune diseases. We report a case of a patient with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis who developed a refractory immune thrombocytopaenia associated with vasculitis, myelofibrosis and later Guillain-Barré syndrome following alemtuzumab. The medical community should be aware of unusual and unexpected adverse events that may be associated with alemtuzumab, especially when occurring simultaneously in the same patient.

Serum neurofilament light chain correlates with myelin and axonal magnetic resonance imaging markers in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Neurofilaments are cytoskeletal proteins that are detectable in the blood after neuroaxonal injury. Multiple sclerosis (MS) disease progression, greater lesion volume, and brain atrophy are associated with higher levels of serum neurofilament light chain (NfL), but few studies have examined the relationship between NfL and advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures related to myelin and axons. We assessed the relationship between serum NfL and brain MRI measures in a diverse group of MS participants.

Diffusely abnormal white matter in clinically isolated syndrome is associated with parenchymal loss and elevated neurofilament levels.

We characterized the frequency of diffusely abnormal white matter (DAWM) across a broad spectrum of multiple sclerosis (MS) participants. 35% of clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), 57% of relapsing remitting and 64% of secondary progressive MS participants demonstrated DAWM. CIS with DAWM had decreased cortical thickness, higher lesion load and a higher concentration of serum neurofilament light chain compared to CIS without DAWM.