Monophasic demyelination reduces brain growth in children.

Objective: To investigate how monophasic acquired demyelinating syndromes (ADS) affect age-expected brain growth over time.

Methods: We analyzed 83 pediatric patients imaged serially from initial demyelinating attack: 18 with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) and 65 with other monophasic ADS presentations (monoADS). We further subdivided the monoADS group by the presence (n = 33; monoADSlesion) or absence (n = 32; monoADSnolesion) of T2 lesions involving the brain at onset.

Reliable volumetry of the cervical spinal cord in MS patient follow-up data with cord image analyzer (Cordial).

Spinal cord (SC) atrophy is an important contributor to the development of disability in many neurological disorders including multiple sclerosis (MS). To assess the spinal cord atrophy in clinical trials and clinical practice, largely automated methods are needed due to the sheer amount of data. Moreover, using these methods in longitudinal trials requires them to deliver highly reliable measurements, enabling comparisons of multiple data sets of the same subject over time.

Individual Assessment of Brain Tissue Changes in MS and the Effect of Focal Lesions on Short-Term Focal Atrophy Development in MS: A Voxel-Guided Morphometry Study.

We performed voxel-guided morphometry (VGM) investigating the mechanisms of brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS) related to focal lesions. VGM maps detect regional brain changes when comparing 2 time points on high resolution T1-weighted (T1w) magnetic resonace imaging (MRI). Two T1w MR datasets from 92 relapsing-remitting MS patients obtained 12 months apart were analysed with VGM.

Impaired growth of the cerebellum in pediatric-onset acquired CNS demyelinating disease.

Background: Acquired demyelinating syndromes (ADS) have the potential to negatively impact cerebellar growth, given the proclivity for infratentorial lesions in pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) and ADS.

Objective: To investigate cerebellar growth longitudinally in pediatric ADS.

Methods: Cerebellar volumes from 472 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 98 patients with monophasic ADS (monoADS), monophasic acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), and MS (49 girls; mean age: 11.

Contribution of the cerebellum to cognitive performance in children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis.

Background: Posterior fossa lesions are common in pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS), which is of concern, given the known role of the cerebellum in cognition.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between cerebellar pathology and cognitive function in youth with pediatric-onset MS.

Methods: Twenty-eight pediatric-onset relapsing-remitting MS patients (21 girls; mean age 16.

Case-Based fMRI Analysis after Cognitive Rehabilitation in MS: A Novel Approach.

Background: Cognitive decline in multiple sclerosis (MS) negatively impacts patients' everyday functioning and quality of life. Since symptomatic pharmacological treatment is not yet available alternative treatment strategies such as cognitive rehabilitation are of particular interest.

Objectives: To analyse the ways in which MS patients respond to cognitive training, by combining behavioral and fMRI data in a case-based triangulation approach.

MRI characteristics of periaqueductal lesions in multiple sclerosis.

Background: In multiple sclerosis (MS), periaqueductal lesions (PAL) have been described histopathologically.

Objectives: We sought to investigate the frequency and characteristics of PAL on magnetic resonance images (MRIs) in patients with MS or clinically isolated syndrome (CIS).

Methods: We analyzed proton density (PD)-weighted MRIs of 247 MS and 10 CIS patients.

The role of the cerebellum in multiple sclerosis.

In multiple sclerosis (MS), cerebellar signs and symptoms as well as cognitive dysfunction are frequent and contribute to clinical disability with only poor response to symptomatic treatment. The current consensus paper highlights the broad range of clinical signs and symptoms of MS patients, which relate to cerebellar dysfunction. There is considerable evidence of cerebellar involvement in MS based on clinical, histopathological as well as structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies.

The role of cerebellar abnormalities in neuromyelitis optica--a comparison with multiple sclerosis and healthy controls.

Background: In relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), the cerebellum is a known predilection site for atrophy. Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is characterized by extensive lesions in the spinal cord and optic nerve; however, cerebellar involvement has been less studied. Secondary degeneration of the spinocerebellar tract could impact the cerebellum in NMO.

Cervical spinal cord volume loss is related to clinical disability progression in multiple sclerosis.

Objective: To examine the temporal evolution of spinal cord (SC) atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS), and its association with clinical progression in a large MS cohort.

Methods: A total of 352 patients from two centres with MS (relapsing remitting MS (RRMS): 256, secondary progressive MS (SPMS): 73, primary progressive MS (PPMS): 23) were included. Clinical and MRI parameters were obtained at baseline, after 12 months and 24 months of follow-up.

Rapid automatic segmentation of the human cerebellum and its lobules (RASCAL)--implementation and application of the patch-based label-fusion technique with a template library to segment the human cerebellum.

Reliable and fast segmentation of the human cerebellum with its complex architecture of lobes and lobules has been a challenge for the past decades. Emerging knowledge of the functional integration of the cerebellum in various sensori-motor and cognitive-behavioral circuits demands new automatic segmentation techniques, with accuracies similar to manual segmentations, but applicable to large subject numbers in a reasonable time frame. This article presents the development and application of a novel pipeline for rapid automatic segmentation of the human cerebellum and its lobules (RASCAL) combining patch-based label-fusion and a template library of manually labeled cerebella of 16 healthy controls from the International Consortium for Brain Mapping (ICBM) database.

Label-fusion-segmentation and deformation-based shape analysis of deep gray matter in multiple sclerosis: the impact of thalamic subnuclei on disability.

Deep gray matter (DGM) atrophy has been reported in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) already at early stages of the disease and progresses throughout the disease course. We studied DGM volume and shape and their relation to disability in a large cohort of clinically well-described MS patients using new subcortical segmentation methods and shape analysis. Structural 3D magnetic resonance images were acquired at 1.

Cerebellar abnormalities contribute to disability including cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis.

The cerebellum is known to be involved not only in motor but also cognitive and affective processes. Structural changes in the cerebellum in relation to cognitive dysfunction are an emerging topic in the field of neuro-psychiatric disorders. In Multiple Sclerosis (MS) cerebellar motor and cognitive dysfunction occur in parallel, early in the onset of the disease, and the cerebellum is one of the predilection sites of atrophy.

Evaluation of a new approach for semi-automatic segmentation of the cerebellum in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Cerebellar dysfunction is an important contributor to disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), however, few in vivo studies focused on cerebellar volume loss so far. This relates to technical challenges regarding the segmentation of the cerebellum. In this study, we evaluated the semi-automatic ECCET software for performing cerebellar volumetry using high-resolution 3D T1-MR scans in patients with MS and healthy volunteers.

Biplanar MRI for the assessment of the spinal cord in multiple sclerosis.

Objective: To investigate the entire spinal cord (SC) of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with biplanar MRI and to relate these MRI findings to clinical functional scores.

Methods: Two hundred and two patients (140 women, 62 men 24-74 years, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores 0-7.5) were investigated clinically and with biplanar MRI.

3D GRASE arterial spin labelling reveals an inverse correlation of cortical perfusion with the white matter lesion volume in MS.

Background: We hypothesized that in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, reduced cortical perfusion is associated with chronic white matter injury.

Objective: To investigate the influence of different clinical and magnetic resonance imaging characteristics on cortical perfusion.

Methods: Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was assessed by applying a pulsed arterial spin labelling (ASL) technique combined with single-shot 3D-GRASE (gradient-spin echo) in a cohort of 165 MS patients with a relapsing-remitting (n=123) or secondary progressive disease course (n=42).

Altered functional adaptation to attention and working memory tasks with increasing complexity in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients.

As attention, processing speed, and working memory seem to be fundamental for a broad range of cognitive performance, the present study on patients with mild forms of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS) focused on these domains. To explore subtle neuropsychological changes in either the clinical or fMRI domain, we applied a multistep experimental design with increasing task complexity to investigate global brain activity, functional adaptation, and behavioral responses to typical cognitive processes related to attention and working memory. Fifteen patients with RR-MS (mean age 38 years, 22-49 years, 9 females, mean disease duration 5.

Non-communicating syringomyelia: a feature of spinal cord involvement in multiple sclerosis.

In patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) non-communicating syringomyelia (NCS) has been described as an incidental finding in case studies and small case series. NCS in MS patients commonly leads to uncertainty particularly as the clinical picture of NCS is variable and surgical therapy may be considered. Up to date little is known about the prevalence and clinical importance of NCS in MS.