Feasibility of in vivo multi-parametric quantitative magnetic resonance imaging of the healthy sciatic nerve with a unified signal readout protocol.

Magnetic resonance neurography (MRN) has been used successfully over the years to investigate the peripheral nervous system (PNS) because it allows early detection and precise localisation of neural tissue damage. However, studies demonstrating the feasibility of combining MRN with multi-parametric quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) methods, which provide more specific information related to nerve tissue composition and microstructural organisation, can be invaluable. The translation of emerging qMRI methods previously validated in the central nervous system to the PNS offers real potential to characterise in patients in vivo the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms involved in a plethora of conditions of the PNS.

Assessing Lumbar Plexus and Sciatic Nerve Damage in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Using Magnetisation Transfer Ratio.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) has traditionally been regarded as a disease confined to the central nervous system (CNS). However, neuropathological, electrophysiological, and imaging studies have demonstrated that the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is also involved, with demyelination and, to a lesser extent, axonal degeneration representing the main pathophysiological mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to assess PNS damage at the lumbar plexus and sciatic nerve anatomical locations in people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and healthy controls (HCs) using magnetisation transfer ratio (MTR), which is a known imaging biomarker sensitive to alterations in myelin content in neural tissue, and not previously explored in the context of PNS damage in MS.

Feasibility of accelerated 3D T1-weighted MRI using compressed sensing: application to quantitative volume measurements of human brain structures.

Objective: Scan time reduction is necessary for volumetric acquisitions to improve workflow productivity and to reduce motion artifacts during MRI procedures. We explored the possibility that Compressed Sensing-4 (CS-4) can be employed with 3D-turbo-field-echo T1-weighted (3D-TFE-T1W) sequence without compromising subcortical measurements on clinical 1.5 T MRI.