Stefan D. Roosendaal1, Menno M. Schoonheim1,
Hanneke E. Hulst1, Ernesto Sanz-Arigita1, Stephen M.
Smith2, Jeroen J.G. Geurts1, Frederik Barkhof1
1Radiology, VU University Medical Center,
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands; 2FMRIB, John Radcliffe
Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
We
questioned whether functional changes can be found in rest in the early phase
of MS. Resting state fMRI networks were compared between 14 patients with
symptoms suggestive of MS (clinically isolated syndrome; CIS), 31 relapsing
remitting (RR) MS patients and 41 healthy controls using independent
component analysis and dual regression. CIS patients showed increased co
activation in six of the eight networks found. No significant resting state
network differences were found between RR patients and controls.
Network-specific resting state changes can be already found in CIS, and are
lost in MS patients with increasing brain damage and advancing disability.