More Than the Sum of Its Parts: Disrupted Core Periphery of Multiplex Brain Networks in Multiple Sclerosis.

Disruptions to brain networks, measured using structural (sMRI), diffusion (dMRI), or functional (fMRI) MRI, have been shown in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), highlighting the relevance of regions in the core of the connectome but yielding mixed results depending on the studied connectivity domain. Using a multilayer network approach, we integrated these three modalities to portray an enriched representation of the brain's core-periphery organization and explore its alterations in PwMS. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, we selected PwMS and healthy controls with complete multimodal brain MRI acquisitions from 13 European centers within the MAGNIMS network.

White matter changes measured by multi-component MR Fingerprinting in multiple sclerosis.

T-hyperintense lesions are the key imaging marker of multiple sclerosis (MS). Previous studies have shown that the white matter surrounding such lesions is often also affected by MS. Our aim was to develop a new method to visualize and quantify the extent of white matter tissue changes in MS based on relaxometry properties.

Treatment of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Transitioning Between Relapsing and Progressive Disease.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system with a wide variety of clinical phenotypes. In spite of the phenotypic classification of MS patients, current data provide evidence that diffuse neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration coexist in all MS forms, the latter gaining increasing clinical relevance in progressive phases. Given that the transition phase of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) to secondary progressive MS (SPMS) is not well defined, and widely accepted criteria for SPMS are lacking, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) specifically designed for the transition phase have not been conducted.

Cognitive Performance and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder.

Background: The frequency of cognitive impairment (CI) reported in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is highly variable, and its relationship with demographic and clinical characteristics is poorly understood. We aimed to describe the cognitive profile of NMOSD patients, and to analyse the cognitive differences according to their serostatus; furthermore, we aimed to assess the relationship between cognition, demographic and clinical characteristics, and other aspects linked to health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Methods: This cross-sectional study included 41 patients (median age, 44 years; 85% women) from 13 Spanish centres.

Dynamics and Predictors of Cognitive Impairment along the Disease Course in Multiple Sclerosis.

(1) Background: The evolution and predictors of cognitive impairment (CI) in multiple sclerosis (MS) are poorly understood. We aimed to define the temporal dynamics of cognition throughout the disease course and identify clinical and neuroimaging measures that predict CI. (2) Methods: This paper features a longitudinal study with 212 patients who underwent several cognitive examinations at different time points.

Fully automated delineation of the optic radiation for surgical planning using clinically feasible sequences.

Quadrantanopia caused by inadvertent severing of Meyer's Loop of the optic radiation is a well-recognised complication of temporal lobectomy for conditions such as epilepsy. Dissection studies indicate that the anterior extent of Meyer's Loop varies considerably between individuals. Quantifying this for individual patients is thus an important step to improve the safety profile of temporal lobectomies.

Diffusion-Weighted Imaging: Recent Advances and Applications.

Quantitative diffusion imaging techniques enable the characterization of tissue microstructural properties of the human brain "in vivo", and are widely used in neuroscientific and clinical contexts. In this review, we present the basic physical principles behind diffusion imaging and provide an overview of the current diffusion techniques, including standard and advanced techniques as well as their main clinical applications. Standard diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) offers sensitivity to changes in microstructure due to diseases and enables the characterization of single fiber distributions within a voxel as well as diffusion anisotropy.

Regional grey matter microstructural changes and volume loss according to disease duration in multiple sclerosis patients.

The spatio-temporal characteristics of grey matter (GM) impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) are poorly understood. We used a new surface-based diffusion MRI processing tool to investigate regional modifications of microstructure, and we quantified volume loss in GM in a cohort of patients with MS classified into three groups according to disease duration. Additionally, we investigated the relationship between GM changes with disease severity.

Accelerated white matter lesion analysis based on simultaneous and quantification using magnetic resonance fingerprinting and deep learning.

Purpose: To develop an accelerated postprocessing pipeline for reproducible and efficient assessment of white matter lesions using quantitative magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) and deep learning.

Methods: MRF using echo-planar imaging (EPI) scans with varying repetition and echo times were acquired for whole brain quantification of and in 50 subjects with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 10 healthy volunteers along 2 centers. MRF and parametric maps were distortion corrected and denoised.

Characterization of multiple sclerosis lesions with distinct clinical correlates through quantitative diffusion MRI.

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging can reveal quantitative information about the tissue changes in multiple sclerosis. The recently developed multi-compartment spherical mean technique can map different microscopic properties based only on local diffusion signals, and it may provide specific information on the underlying microstructural modifications that arise in multiple sclerosis. Given that the lesions in multiple sclerosis may reflect different degrees of damage, we hypothesized that quantitative diffusion maps may help characterize the severity of lesions "in vivo" and correlate these to an individual's clinical profile.

Modified connectivity of vulnerable brain nodes in multiple sclerosis, their impact on cognition and their discriminative value.

Brain structural network modifications in multiple sclerosis (MS) seem to be clinically relevant. The discriminative ability of those changes to identify MS patients or their cognitive status remains unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate connectivity changes in MS patients related to their cognitive status, and to define an automatic classification method to classify subjects as patients and healthy volunteers (HV) or as cognitively preserved (CP) and impaired (CI) patients.

Rebound of multiple sclerosis activity after fingolimod withdrawal due to planning pregnancy: Analysis of predisposing factors.

Background: Rebound of multiple sclerosis (MS) activity has been described after the withdrawal of high-efficacy drugs, but its impact during pregnancy is less known. We describe a series of cases of rebound syndrome after the cessation of fingolimod due to pregnancy planning.

Methods: The clinical and radiological data of 7 MS patients who discontinued fingolimod therapy between May 2012 and March 2018 to plan a pregnancy was analysed.

Kappa free light chains is a valid tool in the diagnostics of MS: A large multicenter study.

Objective: To validate kappa free light chain (KFLC) and lambda free light chain (LFLC) indices as a diagnostic biomarker in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: We performed a multicenter study including 745 patients from 18 centers (219 controls and 526 clinically isolated syndrome (CIS)/MS patients) with a known oligoclonal IgG band (OCB) status. KFLC and LFLC were measured in paired cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum samples.

Liver injury and glatiramer acetate, an uncommon association: case report and literature review.

We report the case of a 65-year-old woman who presented with a 1-month history of progressive paraparesia associated with a thoracic lesion with irregular ring-like gadolinium enhancement. Biopsy of the lesion confirmed the demyelinating origin and brain magnetic resonance imaging showed additional lesions demonstrative of dissemination in space. Immunomodulatory therapy with glatiramer acetate (GA) was started after having a second relapse 2 months later.

Structural networks involved in attention and executive functions in multiple sclerosis.

Attention and executive deficits are disabling symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS) that have been related to disconnection mechanisms. We aimed to investigate changes in structural connectivity in MS and their association with attention and executive performance applying an improved framework that combines high order probabilistic tractography and anatomical exclusion criteria postprocessing. We compared graph theory metrics of structural networks and fractional anisotropy (FA) of white matter (WM) connections or edges between 72 MS subjects and 38 healthy volunteers (HV) and assessed their correlation with cognition.