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
Comparative Study
. 2012 Apr 15;315(1-2):49-54.
doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2011.11.040. Epub 2011 Dec 28.

Magnetic resonance disease severity scale (MRDSS) for patients with multiple sclerosis: a longitudinal study

Jennifer Moodie  1 , Brian C Healy, Guy J Buckle, Susan A Gauthier, Bonnie I Glanz, Ashish Arora, Antonia Ceccarelli, Shahamat Tauhid, Xue-Mei Han, Arun Venkataraman, Tanuja Chitnis, Samia J Khoury, Charles R G Guttmann, Howard L Weiner, Mohit Neema, Rohit Bakshi
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Magnetic resonance disease severity scale (MRDSS) for patients with multiple sclerosis: a longitudinal study

Jennifer Moodie et al. J Neurol Sci. .

Abstract

Background: We previously described a composite MRI scale combining T1-lesions, T2-lesions and whole brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS): the magnetic resonance disease severity scale (MRDSS).

Objective: Test strength of the MRDSS vs. individual MRI measures for sensitivity to longitudinal change.

Methods: We studied 84 MS patients over a 3.2±0.3 year follow-up. Baseline and follow-up T2-lesion volume (T2LV), T1-hypointense lesion volume (T1LV), and brain parenchymal fraction (BPF) were measured. MRDSS was the combination of standardized T2LV, T1/T2 ratio and BPF.

Results: Patients had higher MRDSS at follow-up vs. baseline (p<0.001). BPF decreased (p<0.001), T1/T2 increased (p<0.001), and T2LV was unchanged (p>0.5). Change in MRDSS was larger than the change in MRI subcomponents. While MRDSS showed significant change in relapsing-remitting (RR) (p<0.001) and secondary progressive (SP) phenotypes (p<0.05), BPF and T1/T2 ratio changed only in RRMS (p<0.001). Longitudinal change in MRDSS was significantly different between RRMS and SPMS (p=0.0027); however, change in the individual MRI components did not differ. Evaluation with respect to predicting on-study clinical worsening as measured by EDSS revealed a significant association only for T2LV (p=0.038).

Conclusion: Results suggest improved sensitivity of MRDSS to longitudinal change vs. individual MRI measures. MRDSS has particularly high sensitivity in RRMS.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Zivadinov R, Leist TP. Clinical–MRI correlations in multiple sclerosis. J Neuroimaging. 2005;15:10S–21S. - PubMed
    1. Wolinsky JS, Narayana PA, Noseworthy JH, Lublin FD, Whitaker JN, Linde A, Gjörstrup P, Sullivan HC. Linomide in relapsing and secondary progressive MS: Part II: MRI results. MRI Analysis Center of the University of Texas-Houston, Health Science Center, and the North American Linomide Investigators. Neurology. 2000;54:1734–1741. - PubMed
    1. Mainero C, De Stefano N, Iannucci G, Sormani MP, Guidi L, Federico A, Bartolozzi ML, Comi G, Filippi M. Correlates of MS disability assessed in vivo using aggregates of MR quantities. Neurology. 2001;56:1331–1334. - PubMed
    1. Wolinsky JS, Narayana PA, Johnson KP. Multiple Sclerosis Study Group and the MRI Analysis Center. United States open-label glatiramer acetate extension trial for relapsing multiple sclerosis: MRI and clinical correlates. Mult Scler. 2001;7:33–41. - PubMed
    1. Sriram S, Yao SY, Stratton C, Moses H, Narayana PA, Wolinsky JS. Pilot study to examine the effect of antibiotic therapy on MRI outcomes in PRMS. J Neurol Sci. 2005;20:1–5. - PubMed

Publication types