Gianna Riccitelli1, Maria Assunta Rocca1,2,
Elisabetta Pagani1, Vittorio Martinelli2, Paolo Rossi2,
Andrea Falini3, Giancarlo Comi2, Massimo Filippi1,2
1Neuroimaging Research
Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience,
Scientific Institute & University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, MI,
Italy; 2Department of Neurology, Scientific Institute &
University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, MI, Italy; 3Department of
Neuroradiology, Scientific Institute & University Hospital San Raffaele,
Milan, Italy
We investigated white matter (WM) integrity in a large sample of relapsing remitting (RR) multiple sclerosis (MS) patients using tract-based spatial statistics, as well as the correlation between the distribution of WM damage and clinical quantities. Compared to healthy controls, RRMS patients had a significant fractional anisotropy (FA) decrease and a mean diffusivity (MD) increase in the majority of skeleton voxels. FA decrease also involved the cerebellar WM. Moderate correlations were found between DT MRI abnormalities and T2- and T1-lesion volumes, suggesting that microstructural abnormalities are related to focal lesion accumulation.