Slowly expanding/evolving lesions as a magnetic resonance imaging marker of chronic active multiple sclerosis lesions.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Chronic lesion activity driven by smoldering inflammation is a pathological hallmark of progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objective

To develop a method for automatic detection of slowly expanding/evolving lesions (SELs) on conventional brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and characterize such SELs in primary progressive MS (PPMS) and relapsing MS (RMS) populations.

Methods

We defined SELs as contiguous regions of existing T2 lesions showing local expansion assessed by the Jacobian determinant of the deformation between reference and follow-up scans. SEL candidates were assigned a heuristic score based on concentricity and constancy of change in T2- and T1-weighted MRIs. SELs were examined in 1334 RMS patients and 555 PPMS patients.

Results

SUBMITTER: Elliott C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6876256 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature