Abstract #0218

Multiple sclerosis lesions are softer than surrounding white matter: An MR elastography study

Curtis L Johnson¹, Christian A Thompson¹, Brian M Sandroff², Thomas A Edwards³, Elizabeth A Hubbard³, Rachel E Klaren³, Hillary Schwarb⁴, Bradley P Sutton⁴, Lara A Pilutti⁵, and Robert W Motl⁶

¹Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States, ²Kessler Foundation, East Hanover, NJ, United States, ³Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States, ⁴Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States, ⁵Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada, ⁶Department of Physical Therapy, University of Alabama at Birgmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States

Mechanical properties of the brain measured with magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) have proven sensitive to tissue health in neurological conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS). In this study, we use high-resolution MRE to examine the mechanical properties of focal lesions in subjects with MS to determine if they exhibit viscoelastic signatures that differ from surrounding white matter. In a sample of fourteen subjects, we found that lesions are significantly softer than surrounding white matter. This finding suggests MRE is sensitive to tissue disruption localized to focal lesions, and may provide novel measures of tissue health in the assessment of MS.

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