Magnetic Properties of Normal Appearing Brain White Matter in Multiple Sclerosis
Clinical Neurology; Neurosurgery and Neuroradiology
Final Report Abstract
Orientation dependence of brain tissue susceptibility – previously proposed as a marker of myelin density and integrity – was determined using a clinically feasible MRI acquisition with only a single head orientation (as opposed to 3–12 different head orientations required for some of the proposed acquisition methods). Data obtained with these acquisitions were analyzed in a large group of healthy subjects, identifying both caveats and areas of limited applicability of the proposed approach. Tract-by-tract analysis was also used to examine orientation dependence in a large group of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. It was shown that the apparent susceptibility anisotropy was reduced in normal appearing white matter at a fairly early stage of the disease, suggesting myelin damage in regions of white matter that otherwise appear normal on conventional MRI scans. These results encourage further investigations of this single orientation approach, possibly adding other quantitative MRI parameters, as a noninvasive method to assess white matter integrity in early stages of inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. An unexpected result at the beginning of the studies was that the apparent orientation dependence model of magnetic susceptibility, as proposed by Li et al. (2012), turned out to be inapplicable for the most general case, i.e., application to the entire cerebral white matter. A much more complex behavior was observed in specific white matter tracts, and the expected pattern of orientation dependence was seen as a special case only in a limited number of WM tracts. The only publication known to us so far that followed the same approach as ours (Lancione M et al. 2017), had reported orientation dependence (throughout cerebral WM) that also contradicted the established expectation and was also observed in a number of white matter tracts in our study. In summary, the project has led to the collection of comprehensive quantitative MRI data in a large cohort of patients with multiple sclerosis, which has not only enabled further development of methodology and analysis (including deep learning techniques), but has also yielded new insights into microstructural changes that merit future further investigation. The opportunity to work together as an international project team in the DFG D-A-CH construct was critical to the execution and success of the project.
Publications
- In vivo assessment of the anisotropy of R2* maps in white matter. Proceedings of the ISMRM 27th Annual Meeting and Exhibition. Palais des congrès de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada, 11-16 May 2019. #4096
Sibgatulin R, Deistung A, Güllmar D, Birkl C, Ropele S, Reichenbach JR
- Assessment of R2* dependency on fiber orientation and myelin concentration in normal-appearing white matter in multiple sclerosis. Proceedings of the 2020 ISMRM and SMRT Virtual Conference and Exhibition 08-14 August 2020. #3148
Sibgatulin R, Güllmar D, Deistung A, Ropele S, Reichenbach JR
- CNN-based classification of multiple sclerosis using BOLD venographic imaging (SWI) data. Proceedings of the 2020 ISMRM and SMRT Virtual Conference and Exhibition 08-14 August 2020. #1412
Lopatina A, Sibgatulin R, Ropele S, Reichenbach JR, Güllmar D
- Comparison of advanced quantitative diffusion MRI parameter in a multi-site MR study using the traveling volunteer approach. Proceedings of the 2020 ISMRM and SMRT Virtual Conference and Exhibition 08-14 August 2020. #1752
Güllmar D, Sibgatulin R, Ropele S, Reichenbach JR
- In vivo assessment of orientation dependence of the magnetic susceptibility in optic radiation from a single orientation acquisition. Proceedings of Annual Meeting of the DGMP 09.-11. September 2020
Sibgatulin R, Güllmar D, Deistung A, Ropele S, Reichenbach JR
- Investigation of Deep-Learning-Driven Identification of Multiple Sclerosis Patients Based on Susceptibility-Weighted Images Using Relevance Analysis. Front Neurosci 14:609468 (2020)
Lopatina A, Ropele S, Reichenbach JR, Güllmar D
(See online at https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.609468) - Quantitative MR diffusion parameter in normal appearing white matter (NAWM) – a comparison of multiple sclerosis patients and healthy controls. Proceedings of the 2020 ISMRM and SMRT Virtual Conference and Exhibition 08-14 August 2020. #1395
Güllmar D, Sibgatulin R, Ropele S, Reichenbach JR
- In vivo assessment of anisotropy of apparent magnetic susceptibility in white matter from a single orientation acquisition. Neuroimage 241:118442 (2021)
Sibgatulin R, Güllmar D, Deistung A, Ropele S, Reichenbach JR
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118442)
