Cortical involvement and leptomeningeal inflammation in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease: A three-dimensional fluid-attenuated inversion recovery MRI study.

Background: Cortical demyelination and meningeal inflammation have been detected neuropathologically in multiple sclerosis (MS) and recently in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease (MOGAD).

Objectives: To assess in vivo cortical and leptomeningeal involvement in MOGAD.

Methods: We prospectively evaluated 11 MOGAD and 12 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients combining three-dimensional fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (3D-FLAIR) and 3D-T1-weighted (3D-T1w) sequences at 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Leptomeningeal contrast enhancement (LMCE) was assessed on 3D-FLAIR post-gadolinium (3D-FLAIRGd). Cerebral cortical lesions (CCLs) were classified as either intracortical-subpial (IC-SP) or leukocortical (LC).

Results: CCLs were present in 8/11 MOGAD and 12/12 RRMS patients, with the number of CCLs being significantly lower in MOGAD (median (interquartile range (IQR)) 3 (0.5-4) vs 12 (4.75-19),  = 0.0032). In MOGAD, IC-SP lesions were slightly more prevalent than LC lesions (2 (0-2.5) vs 1 (0-2),  = 0.6579); whereas in RRMS, IC-SP lesions were less prevalent than LC lesions (3.5 (2.75-5.5) vs 9 (2-12.75),  = 0.27). LMCE was observed in 3/11 MOGAD and 1/12 RRMS patients; MOGAD with LMCE showed an increased median number of CCLs compared with MOGAD without LMCE (8 (4-9) vs 2.5 (0.75-3.25),  = 0.34). No correlation was observed between MOGAD MRI findings and (a) MOGAD duration, (b) serum MOG-immunoglobulin G1 titers, and (c) oligoclonal band presence.

Conclusion: We described cortical lesion topography and detected for the first time LMCE using 3D-FLAIRGd sequences in MOGAD patients.