Clinical correlates of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) is a vascular condition characterized by anomalies of the primary veins outside the skull that has been reported to be associated with MS. In the blinded Combined Transcranial (TCD) and Extracranial Venous Doppler Evaluation (CTEVD) study, we found that prevalence of CCSVI was significantly higher in multiple sclerosis (MS) vs. healthy controls (HC) (56.

Use of MR venography for characterization of the extracranial venous system in patients with multiple sclerosis and healthy control subjects.

Purpose: To investigate the differences in the extracranial venous system in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy control (HC) subjects by using magnetic resonance (MR) venography.

Materials And Methods: This HIPAA-compliant, prospective study was approved by the local institutional review board, and all participants gave informed consent. Fifty-seven patients, 41 (72%) with relapsing-remitting MS and 16 (28%) with secondary-progressive MS, and 21 HC subjects were imaged with a 3-T MR unit by using two-dimensional (2D) time-of-flight (TOF) and three-dimensional (3D) time-resolved imaging of contrast kinetics (TRICKS) sequences.