• Silvia Mangia, Adam F Carpenter, Andy E Tyan, Lynn E Eberly, Michael Garwood, and Shalom Michaeli.
• Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR), Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, USA mangia@umn.edu.
• Mult. Scler. 2014 Jul 1; 20 (8): 1066-73.

BackgroundDiffuse abnormalities are known to occur within the brain tissue of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients that is "normal appearing" on T1-weighted and T2-weighted magnetic resonance images.ObjectivesWith the goal of exploring the sensitivity of novel MRI parameters to detect such abnormalities, we implemented an inversion-prepared magnetization transfer (MT) protocol and adiabatic T1ρ and T2ρ rotating frame relaxation methods.MethodsNine relapsing-remitting MS patients and seven healthy controls were recruited. Relaxation parameters were measured in a single slice just above the lateral ventricles and approximately parallel to the AC-PC line.ResultsThe MT ratio of regions encompassing the normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) was different in MS patients as compared with controls (p = 0.043); however, the T1 measured during off-resonance irradiation (T1sat) was substantially more sensitive than the MT ratio for detecting differences between groups (p = 0.0006). Adiabatic T1ρ was significantly prolonged in the NAWM of MS patents as compared to controls (by 6%, p = 0.026), while no differences were found among groups for T2ρ. No differences among groups were observed in the cortical gray matter for any relaxation parameter.ConclusionsThe results suggest degenerative processes occurring in the NAWM of MS, likely not accompanied by significant abnormalities in iron content.© The Author(s) 2013.

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