Abstract #0343

Demyelination and Remyelination in New Multiple Sclerosis Lesions: Insights from Serial Myelin Water Imaging

Cornelia Laule¹, Irene M. Vavasour¹, Shannon H. Kolind², Burkhard Maedler³, Anthony L. Traboulsee⁴, Penny Smyth⁴, Alex Rauscher¹, John Hooge⁴, Virginia Devonshire⁴, Joel Oger⁴, Wayne Moore⁵, David KB Li^1,4, Alex L. MacKay^1,2

¹Radiology, UBC, Vancouver, BC, Canada; ²Physics & Astronomy, UBC, Vancouver, BC, Canada; ³Philips Healthcare, Vancouver, BC, Canada; ⁴Neurology, UBC, Vancouver, BC, Canada; ⁵Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, UBC, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Histological studies show cycles of demyelination and remyelination occur in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions. MR measures of myelin water fraction (MWF), water content (WC) and geometric mean T₂ (GMT₂) measured by multi-echo T₂ relaxation provide insight into the myelination state of MS lesions.We utilized a 3D T₂ relaxation sequence to follow MWF, WC, GMT₂ and also measured T₁ on a monthly basis to elucidate the time course of pathological changes in new MS lesions. The behaviour of new lesions varied between subjects, with some lesions showing recovery. WC and MWF can monitor the evolution of demyelination and remyelination in MS.