Person:

Hackney, David

MRI at 3 T has increased sensitivity in detecting overt multiple sclerosis (MS) brain lesions; a growing body of data suggests clinically relevant damage occurs in the normal-appearing white matter (NAWM). We tested a novel pulse sequence to determine whether 3 T MRI spin–spin relaxometry detected damage in NAWM of MS patients (n = 13) vs. age-matched normal controls [(NL) (n = 11)]. Baseline characteristics of the MS group were: age (mean ± SD) 42.5 ± 5.4 (range 33–51 years), disease duration 9.0 ± 6.4 (range 1–22 years), Expanded Disability Status Scale score 2.5 ± 1.7 (range 1–6.5). Brain MRI measures, obtained at 3 T, included global and regional NAWM transverse relaxation rate [R2 (= 1/T2)], derived from 3D fast spin-echo T2 prepared images, and global white matter volume fraction derived from SPGR images. The regional NAWM areas investigated were the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, and the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum. Mean NAWM R2 was lower (indicating T2 prolongation) in MS than NL in the whole brain (p = 0.00047), frontal NAWM (p = 0.00015), parietal NAWM (p = 0.0069) and callosal genu (p = 0.0019). Similarly, R2 histogram peak position was lower in NAWM in MS than NL in the whole brain (p = 0.019). However, the normalized WM volume fractions were similar in both MS and NL (p > 0.1). This pilot study suggests that a novel 3D fast spin-echo pulse sequence at 3 T, used to derive R2 relaxation maps, can detect tissue damage in the global and regional cerebral NAWM of MS patients that is missed by conventional lesion and atrophy measures. Such findings may represent demyelination, inflammation, glial proliferation and axonal loss.

Objective To determine the frequency of hyperintense cortical signal (HCS) on T1-weighted pre-contrast MRI in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) patients, its association with seizure risk and immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), and its pathologic correlate.

Methods We reviewed clinical data including seizure history, presence of IRIS, and MRI scans from PML patients evaluated at our institution between 2003 and 2012. Cases that were diagnosed either by CSF JC Virus (JCV) PCR, brain biopsy or autopsy, and who had MRI images available were included in the analysis (n=49). We characterized pathologic findings in areas of the brain displaying HCS in two patients and compared them with isointense cortex in the same individuals.

Results Of 49 patients, 17 (34.7%) had seizures and 30 (61.2%) had HCS adjacent to subcortical PML lesions on MRI. Of the 17 PML patients with seizures, 15 (88.2%) had HCS compared to 15/32 (46.9%) patients without seizures (p= 0.006). HCS was associated with seizure development with a relative risk (RR) of 4.75 (95% confidence interval of 1.2 to 18.5; p=0.006). Of the 20 patients with IRIS, 16 (80.0%) had HCS compared to 14/29 (49.3%) of those without IRIS (p=0.04). On histological examination, HCS areas were associated with striking JCV-associated demyelination of cortical and sub-cortical U-fibers, significant macrophage infiltration and a pronounced reactive gliosis in the deep cortical layers.

Interpretation Seizures are a frequent complication in PML. HCS is associated with seizures as well as IRIS, and correlates histologically with JCV focal leukocortical encephalitis (JCV FLE).

Purpose: To explore the lower limits for radiofrequency (RF) power-induced specific absorption rate (SAR) achievable at 1.5 T for brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging without loss of tissue signal or contrast present in high-SAR clinical imaging in order to create a potentially viable MR method at ultra-low RF power to image tissues containing implanted devices.

Materials and methods: An institutional review board-approved HIPAA-compliant prospective MR study design was used, with written informed consent from all subjects prior to MR sessions. Seven healthy subjects were imaged prospectively at 1.5 T with ultra-low-SAR optimized three-dimensional (3D) fast spin-echo (FSE) and fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery (FLAIR) T2-weighted sequences and an ultra-low-SAR 3D spoiled gradient-recalled acquisition in the steady state T1-weighted sequence. Corresponding high-SAR two-dimensional (2D) clinical sequences were also performed. In addition to qualitative comparisons, absolute signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) for multicoil, parallel imaging acquisitions were generated by using a Monte Carlo method for quantitative comparison between ultra-low-SAR and high-SAR results.

Results: There were minor to moderate differences in the absolute tissue SNR and CNR values and in qualitative appearance of brain images obtained by using ultra-low-SAR and high-SAR techniques. High-SAR 2D T2-weighted imaging produced slightly higher SNR, while ultra-low-SAR 3D technique not only produced higher SNR for T1-weighted and FLAIR images but also higher CNRs for all three sequences for most of the brain tissues.

Conclusion: The 3D techniques adopted here led to a decrease in the absorbed RF power by two orders of magnitude at 1.5 T, and still the image quality was preserved within clinically acceptable imaging times.