Brain viscoelasticity alteration in chronic-progressive multiple sclerosis
Streitberger KJ, Krefting D, Pfueller C, Braun J, Paul F, Wuerfel J, Sack I (2012)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2012
Journal
Book Volume: 7
Article Number: e29888
Journal Issue: 1
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029888
Abstract
Introduction: Viscoelastic properties indicate structural alterations in biological tissues at multiple scales with high sensitivity. Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) is a novel technique that directly visualizes and quantitatively measures biomechanical tissue properties in vivo. MRE recently revealed that early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with a global decrease of the cerebral mechanical integrity. This study addresses MRE and MR volumetry in chronic-progressive disease courses of MS. Methods: We determined viscoelastic parameters of the brain parenchyma in 23 MS patients with primary or secondary chronic progressive disease course in comparison to 38 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals by multifrequency MRE, and correlated the results with clinical data, T2 lesion load and brain volume. Two viscoelastic parameters, the shear elasticity μ and the powerlaw exponent α, were deduced according to the springpot model and compared to literature values of relapsing-remitting MS. Results: In chronic-progressive MS patients, μ and α were reduced by 20.5% and 6.1%, respectively, compared to healthy controls. MR volumetry yielded a weaker correlation: Total brain volume loss in MS patients was in the range of 7.5% and 1.7% considering the brain parenchymal fraction. All findings were significant (P<0.001). Conclusions: Chronic-progressive MS disease courses show a pronounced reduction of the cerebral shear elasticity compared to early relapsing-remitting disease. The powerlaw exponent α decreased only in the chronic-progressive stage of MS, suggesting an alteration in the geometry of the cerebral mechanical network due to chronic neuroinflammation. © 2012 Streitberger et al.
Involved external institutions
Germany (DE)How to cite
APA:
Streitberger, K.-J., Krefting, D., Pfueller, C., Braun, J., Paul, F., Wuerfel, J., & Sack, I. (2012). Brain viscoelasticity alteration in chronic-progressive multiple sclerosis. PLoS ONE, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0029888
MLA:
Streitberger, Kaspar-Josche, et al. "Brain viscoelasticity alteration in chronic-progressive multiple sclerosis." PLoS ONE 7.1 (2012).
BibTeX: Download