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Brain viscoelasticity alteration in chronic-progressive multiple sclerosis.
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 1, p e29888 (2012)
- Publication Year :
- 2012
- Publisher :
- Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2012.
-
Abstract
- IntroductionViscoelastic properties indicate structural alterations in biological tissues at multiple scales with high sensitivity. Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) is a novel technique that directly visualizes and quantitatively measures biomechanical tissue properties in vivo. MRE recently revealed that early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with a global decrease of the cerebral mechanical integrity. This study addresses MRE and MR volumetry in chronic-progressive disease courses of MS.MethodsWe determined viscoelastic parameters of the brain parenchyma in 23 MS patients with primary or secondary chronic progressive disease course in comparison to 38 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals by multifrequency MRE, and correlated the results with clinical data, T2 lesion load and brain volume. Two viscoelastic parameters, the shear elasticity μ and the powerlaw exponent α, were deduced according to the springpot model and compared to literature values of relapsing-remitting MS.ResultsIn chronic-progressive MS patients, μ and α were reduced by 20.5% and 6.1%, respectively, compared to healthy controls. MR volumetry yielded a weaker correlation: Total brain volume loss in MS patients was in the range of 7.5% and 1.7% considering the brain parenchymal fraction. All findings were significant (PConclusionsChronic-progressive MS disease courses show a pronounced reduction of the cerebral shear elasticity compared to early relapsing-remitting disease. The powerlaw exponent α decreased only in the chronic-progressive stage of MS, suggesting an alteration in the geometry of the cerebral mechanical network due to chronic neuroinflammation.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 7
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Directory of Open Access Journals
- Journal :
- PLoS ONE
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- edsdoj.4a191ebd8dd94c59b4ebb5391db4cdfa
- Document Type :
- article
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0029888