Paul Mittelstaedt1, Tim Sinnecker1,
Jan Markus Doerr1, Caspar F. Pfueller1, Lutz Harms1,
Thoralf Niendorf2,3, Friedemann Paul1,4, Jens Wuerfel2,5
1Charit University
Medicine, Berlin, Germany; 2Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular
Medicin, Berlin, Germany; 3Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility,
Berlin, Germany; 4NeuroCure Clinical Research Center , Berlin,
Germany; 5University of Luebeck, Luebeck, Schleswig-Holstein,
Germany
Ultrahigh field MRI visualizes small blood vessels as well as cerebral white and grey brain matter lesions in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with great anatomical details. In comparison to age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects, MS patients present with a rarified periventricular venous density. Furthermore, the number of detectable periventricular veins inversely correlates with the T2 lesion load, a paraclinical marker of the disease severity. Our results indicate disease related alterations of the cerebral vasculature, but challenge - if not contradict - the hypothesis of an increased intracerebral venous pressure resulting from a chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency in MS a recently suggested cause of MS.