Low degree of cortical pathology is associated with benign course of multiple sclerosis.

Background: Although a more favorable course of multiple sclerosis is associated with a low degree of cortical pathology, only longitudinal studies could definitely confirm this association.

Materials And Methods: We followed 95 early relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS; median Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) = 1.5, mean disease duration = 3.

Cortical diffusion-tensor imaging abnormalities in multiple sclerosis: a 3-year longitudinal study.

Purpose: To evaluate whether diffusion-tensor imaging can be combined with double inversion recovery to improve the detection of structural changes occurring in the cortex of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Materials And Methods: Once local ethics committee approval and informed consent were obtained, 168 patients with relapsing-remitting MS and 45 sex- and age-matched control subjects were included in a 3-year longitudinal study. Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging examinations were performed at study entry and after 3 years.

Basal ganglia and frontal/parietal cortical atrophy is associated with fatigue in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Background: Fatigue is one of the most frequent symptoms suffered by patients affected by multiple sclerosis. The patho-physiological basis of multiple sclerosis-related fatigue remains to be elucidated.

Objective: Our aim was to investigate whether a particular pattern of deep and/or cortical grey matter atrophy is associated with fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis.

No evidence of JC virus reactivation in natalizumab treated multiple sclerosis patients: an 18 month follow-up study.

Background And Aim: Natalizumab, used as therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS), has been associated with progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy (PML), a potentially fatal disease caused by JC virus (JCV), which is not predictable by specific markers. This study evaluated whether JCV reactivation occurred in the urine and/or plasma in 42 MS patients treated with natalizumab over 18 months, and followed by a thorough monitoring programme.

Methods: 42 patients (F/M: 24/18, mean age 34.

A 3-year magnetic resonance imaging study of cortical lesions in relapse-onset multiple sclerosis.

Objective: We assessed the occurrence, extent, and frequency of formation of cortical lesions (CLs) in patients with relapsing-remitting (RR) and secondary progressive (SP) multiple sclerosis (MS), and their relationship with cortical atrophy and disability progression.

Methods: One-hundred seven MS patients (76 RRMS and 31 SPMS), enrolled in a prospective, longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study, were assessed clinically and by brain MRI (including a double inversion recovery sequence) 3 years after study initiation. CL number and volume, T2 white matter (WM) lesion volume, gray matter fraction, and expanded disability status scale (EDSS) were measured.

Magnetic resonance evidence of cerebellar cortical pathology in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Although neuropathological observations suggest that cerebellar cortex is a major site of demyelination in multiple sclerosis (MS), only a few MRI studies on cerebellar cortical pathology in MS are available.

Objective: To analyse cerebellar cortical volume (CCV) and leucocortical lesions (CL) in MS, and their impact on clinical disability.

Methods: The authors studied 125 patients divided into 38 Clinical Isolated Syndrome (CIS), 35 relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), 27 secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) and 25 primary progressive multiple sclerosis, and 32 normal controls (NC).

Cortical lesions and atrophy associated with cognitive impairment in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Background: Neuropsychological deficits in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have been shown to be associated with the major pathological substrates of the disease, ie, inflammatory demyelination and neurodegeneration. Double inversion recovery sequences allow cortical lesions (CLs) to be detected in the brain of patients with MS. Modern postprocessing techniques allow cortical atrophy to be assessed reliably.

Morphology and evolution of cortical lesions in multiple sclerosis. A longitudinal MRI study.

Cortical lesions (CLs) can be detected in the majority of patients with established multiple sclerosis (MS), but little is known about their evolution over time. This study was performed to investigate the short-term MRI evolution of CLs, with the ultimate aim to achieve a better in vivo understanding of their nature. Seven hundred and sixty-eight CLs from 107 MS patients (76 with relapsing-remitting [RR] and 31 with secondary progressive [SP] MS) were followed with brain MR examinations, including a double inversion recovery (DIR) sequence, every 6 months for 1 year.

Extensive cortical inflammation is associated with epilepsy in multiple sclerosis.

Introduction: Epilepsy is three to six times more frequent in MS than in the general population. Previous studies based on conventional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging have suggested a possible correlation between cortical inflammatory pathology and epileptic seizures. However, pure intracortical lesions (ICLs) are unlikely to be demonstrated with conventional MR.

Detection of cortical inflammatory lesions by double inversion recovery magnetic resonance imaging in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Background: A significant inflammatory pathologic disorder in the cortex of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been demonstrated by ex vivo studies.

Objective: To determine the frequency, time of appearance, and clinical relevance of intracortical lesions (ICLs) in MS in vivo.

Design: Double inversion recovery sequence study.