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Abstract #0102

In vivo measurement of the myelin g-ratio with histological validation

Nikola Stikov 1 , Jennifer S.W. Campbell 1 , Mariette Lavalle 1 , Thomas Stroh 1 , Stephen Frey 1 , Jennifer Novek 1 , Stephen Nuara 1 , Ming-Kai Ho 1 , Barry Bedell 1 , and G. Bruce Pike 1,2

1 Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada, 2 Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

The myelin g-ratio, defined as the ratio between the inner and the outer diameter of the myelin sheath, is a fundamental property of white matter that can be computed from a simple formula relating the myelin volume fraction (MVF) to the fiber volume fraction (FVF). Recent studies have suggested that the sexual dimorphism in white matter development is due to a higher g-ratio (thinner myelin) in adolescent boys. Additionally, in vivo imaging of the myelin thickness in multiple sclerosis could provide a real-time tool for tracking myelination in lesions, facilitating the development and evaluation of new therapeutic agents that promote remyelination. In this abstract, a unique combination of magnetization transfer, diffusion imaging and histology is presented, providing a novel method for validating the in vivo measurements of the myelin g-ratio. We show that the g-ratio computed from MRI exhibits a high correlation with histology.

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