A comparison between magnetization transfer ratios and myelin water percentages in normals and multiple sclerosis patients

• Published in: Magnetic resonance in medicine Vol. 40; no. 5; p. 763
• Main Authors: Vavasour, I M, Whittall, K P, MacKay, A L, Li, D K, Vorobeychik, G, Paty, D W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.11.1998
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Body Water - metabolism; Brain - metabolism; Brain - pathology; Brain Mapping; Cerebrospinal Fluid - metabolism; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Middle Aged; Multiple Sclerosis - cerebrospinal fluid; Multiple Sclerosis - diagnosis; Multiple Sclerosis - metabolism; Nerve Fibers, Myelinated - metabolism; Nerve Fibers, Myelinated - pathology; Reference Values; Sensitivity and Specificity
• ISSN: 0740-3194
• DOI: 10.1002/mrm.1910400518

Magnetization transfer and T2 relaxation data were obtained for five white and six gray matter brain structures from 10 normal volunteers and 9 multiple sclerosis patients. Thirty MS lesions were also analyzed. Magnetization transfer ratios and myelin water percentages were compared. Both techniques showed a significant difference between the average of white and gray matter of the normal volunteers as well as the average of normal-appearing white matter and gray matter of the multiple sclerosis patients. The average magnetization transfer ratio and myelin water percentage for lesions were significantly lower than those of normal-appearing white matter. Myelin water percentages and magnetization transfer ratios were uncorrelated in white and gray matter but showed a small (R = 0.5, P = 0.005) but significant correlation in multiple sclerosis lesions. In summary, the myelin water percentage and the magnetization transfer ratio provide quantifiable but largely independent measures of multiple sclerosis lesion pathology.