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Abstract #2111

Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency and Iron Deposition on Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Robert Zivadinov1, Paolo Zamboni2, E. Mark Haacke3, Erica Menegatti4, Bianca Weinstock-Guttman5, Claudiu Schirda1, Anna M. Malagoni2, David Hojnacki5, Cheryl Kennedy1, Ellen Carl1, Niels Bergsland1, Sara Hussein1, Mari Heininen-Brown1, Ilaria Bartolomei6, Fabrizio Salvi2, Michael G. Dwyer1

1University at Buffalo, Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Buffalo, NY, United States; 2University of Ferrera- Bellaria Neurosciences, Vascular Diseases Center, Ferrera, Italy; 3MR Research Facility, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States; 4University of Ferrera- Bellaria Neurosciences, Vascular Diseases Center, Buffalo, NY, United States; 5University at Buffalo, The Jacobs Neurological Institute, Buffalo, NY, United States; 6University of Ferrera- Bellaria Neurosciences, Vascular Diseases Center, Ferrera, NY, United States


Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) is a vascular picture in multiple sclerosis patients characterized by stenoses affecting the main extracranial venous outflow pathways and by a high rate of cerebral venous reflux that may lead to increased iron deposition in the brain. We explored relationship between venous hemodynamic (VH) parameters and disability and iron concentration in deep-gray matter (DGM) structures and lesions on susceptibility-weighted imaging. There was a significant association between higher number of VH criteria and higher iron concentration in T2 and T1 lesion volumes. Higher iron concentration in DGM structures was strongly associated with higher disability status.