A translational MRI approach to validate acute axonal damage detection as an early event in multiple sclerosis.

ABSTRACT: Axonal degeneration is a central pathological feature of multiple sclerosis and is closely associated with irreversible clinical disability. Current noninvasive methods to detect axonal damage in vivo are limited in their specificity and clinical applicability, and by the lack of proper validation. We aimed to validate an MRI framework based on multicompartment modeling of the diffusion signal (AxCaliber) in rats in the presence of axonal pathology, achieved through injection of a neurotoxin damaging the neuronal terminal of axons. We then applied the same MRI protocol to map axonal integrity in the brain of multiple sclerosis relapsing-remitting patients and age-matched healthy controls. AxCaliber is sensitive to acute axonal damage in rats, as demonstrated by a significant increase in th

SUBMITTER: Cerdan Cerda A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10776086 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature