1 August 2002
Multiple Sclerosis, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 339-342(4)
Hickman SJ[1]; Brierley CMH[2]; Brex PA[1]; MacManus DG[1]; Scolding
NJ[3]; Compston DAS[2]; Miller DH[1]
[1] NMR Research Unit, Institute of Neurology, University College London,
Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK [2] Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair,
Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 2PY, UK [3] Institute of Clinical
Neurosciences, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol BS16 1LE, UK
To investigate optic neuritis as a model for atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions we performed serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on 10 patients with a history of optic neuritis using a fat saturated short-echo fast fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (sTE fFLAIR) sequence.
The first study was performed a median of 19.5 months after the onset of optic neuritis and the second 1 year later.
Using a computer-assisted contouring technique, a blinded observer calculated the mean area of the intra-orbital optic nerves.
The mean area of affected optic nerves decreased over 1 year by 0.9 mm2 from 11.1 to 10.2 mm2 (p=0.01).
Poor visual acuity and decreased visual-evoked potential (VEP) amplitude were associated with atrophy.
These findings suggest that atrophy is a feature of focal demyelinating lesions, it may evolve over several years, and may have functional significance.
Optic neuritis provides a model to study the effect of inflammatory demyelination through the ability to accurately measure visual function and to visualize and measure the optic nerves using magnetic resonance imaging.
© 2002 ingenta