Abstract #3213

Myelin Sensitive Multi-Component DESPOT Imaging in Multiple Sclerosis

Hagen H. Kitzler¹, Sean C. Deoni^2,3, Cyndi Harper-Little¹, Andrew Leung⁴, Marcelo Kremenchutzky⁵, Brian K. Rutt¹

¹Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; ²Centre for Neuroimaging Research, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK; ³Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain, Oxford, UK; ⁴Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, London Health Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; ⁵Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, London Health Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

This study used a novel quantitative myelin-sensitive MR imaging method known as multi-component Driven Equilibrium Single Pulse Observation (mcDESPOT) to explore changes in Normal Appearing White Matter (NAWM) in early and late stages of MS development. The exploration of comparative histogram and ROI analyses of the myelin volume fraction (VF_M) a parameter derived by mcDESPOT data processing revealed a promising trend towards a correlation of the measured VF_M with the stage of disease development and clinical disability in a spectrum of different types of MS.