Xingchen Wu1, Lars G. Hanson1,2,
Morten Blinkenberg3, Arnold Skimminge1, Per Soelberg
Srensen3, Olaf Paulson1,4, Henrik Mathiesen1,3
1Danish Research Center for Magnetic
Resonance, MR Dept., Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Hvidovre,
Denmark; 2Department of Electrical Engineering, Technical
University of Denmark, Denmark; 3Danish MS Research Center,
Neurology Dept., Copenahgen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Denmark; 4Dept.
Neurology and Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital
Rigshospitalet, Denmark
MR
spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) provides in vivo information about neuronal loss
or dysfunction by measuring N-acetyl aspartate (NAA). This aim of this
multi-slice echo-planar spectroscopic imaging study was to test the
hypothesis that cortical NAA/Creatine (Cr) is a potential predictor of
neurological disability in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) by
serial MRSI once every 6 months for 24 months. Clinical examinations
including the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) were performed at
baseline, month 24, and year 7. We found that baseline cortical NAA/Cr ratio
was negatively correlated with EDSS at month 24 and year 7. In conclusion,
cortical NAA/Cr in early RRMS predicts clinical disability in 7 years.