New Research Uncovers MRI Method to Map MS Progression

Researchers from Western University (WHERE) have uncovered a new approach to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that may help to provide better diagnosing and tracking of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) progression, as well as other neurological disorders. It's called quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and it works by measurement of the myelin content and iron deposition in the brain-all important factors in the physiology of the disorder.

Lead study author Ravi Menon, Ph.D., a scientist at Western Robarts Research, along with associates, set out to determine whether QSM was quantitative. Through interpretation of QSM data, scientists found that the most common approach to creating images through QSM  was at first, insufficient.

Researchers explored the orientation dependence of the MRI signal. Though they believed that the signal would be a constant, they found that the tissue orientation in both cortical grey and white matter may determine otherwise, unless found in deep brain structures, such as the basal ganglia.

They used the QSM device to rotate a rat's brain that scanned the organ from 18 different angles, using a 9.4 TMRI. Brain patterns were then sent to a histology lab for comparison.

For the first time, study authors note that their findings exhibited the correlation between MRI measurement and histology measurement when the correct model was used properly. They also determined that values depend on the microstructure of the brain, including such tissues as myelin concentration and iron deposition.

"With this methodology, we now have a quantitative way to interpret myelin and iron concentrations, and in particular, any changes to them over time," said Menon, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, via a press release. "We've been doing these scans on MS patients for a while, but nobody knew if it was a valid approach or not. We now know how to interpret the data. It allows us to separate changes in white matter degeneration, from other changes such as iron deposition, which in conventional imaging all looks the same."

Their next step? To use this new imaging approach to study changes that occur in MS and possibly provide predictive information about the diseases' progression.

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More information regarding the study can be be found via the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).