Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2002 Feb;23(2):267-72.

Magnetization transfer and diffusion tensor MR imaging of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis

Matilde Inglese  1 , Fabrizio Salvi, Giuseppe Iannucci, Gian Luigi Mancardi, Mario Mascalchi, Massimo Filippi
Affiliations

Magnetization transfer and diffusion tensor MR imaging of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis

Matilde Inglese et al. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2002 Feb.

Abstract

Background and purpose: Patients with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) and multiple sclerosis (MS) have a similar pattern of abnormalities on conventional MR images. We used magnetization transfer and diffusion tensor MR imaging to quantify normal-appearing brain tissue and cervical cord disease in patients with ADEM and to compare findings with those in healthy volunteers and patients with MS.

Methods: Brain dual-echo, T1-weighted magnetization transfer, and diffusion tensor images were obtained in eight patients with ADEM, in 10 patients with MS, and in 10 healthy volunteers. Fast short-tau inversion recovery, T1-weighted, and magnetization transfer cervical cord images were also obtained. We identified lesions on the images and quantified their volumes. We performed histogram analysis of the magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) and average mean histogram analysis of the diffusivity (D) in normal-appearing brain tissue and MTR in the cervical cord.

Results: Histogram analysis of normal-appearing brain tissue in patients with MS showed significantly lower MTRs and peak positions and significantly higher D averages compared with those in patients with ADEM. Patients with MS had significantly lower MTRs and D peak heights and significantly higher average D compared with those in healthy volunteers. Between patients with ADEM and control subjects, normal-appearing brain tissue MTR and D histogram metrics did not differ significantly. Cervical cord MTRs did not differ between control subjects and patients with ADEM, whereas the average MTR and histogram peak position was significantly lower in patients with MS than in the other groups.

Conclusion: Outside the acute phase of disease and as opposed to what happens in MS, the normal-appearing brain tissue and cervical cord in patients with ADEM are spared in the pathologic process.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Alvord EC Jr. Disseminated encephalomyelitis: its variations in form and their relationships to other diseases of the nervous system. In: Vinken PJ, Bruyn GW, Klawans HL, eds. Handbook of clinical neurology. Vol 47. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Elsevier Science;1985;467–502
    1. Stuve O, Zamvil SS. Pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Curr Opin Neurol 1999;12:395–401 - PubMed
    1. Hynson JL, Kornberg AJ, Coleman LT, et al. Clinical and neuroradiologic features of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in children. Neurology 2001;56:1308–1312 - PubMed
    1. Schwarz S, Mohr A, Knauth M, Wildemann B, Storch-Hagenlocher B. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. A follow-up study of 40 adult patients. Neurology 2001;56:1313–1318 - PubMed
    1. Kesserling J, Miller DH, Robb SA, et al. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis: MRI findings and the distinction from multiple sclerosis. Brain 1990;113:291–302 - PubMed