Abstract
BackgroundThe cerebral subcortical deep gray matter nuclei (DGM) are a common, early, and clinically-relevant site of atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS). Robust and reliable DGM segmentation could prove useful to evaluate putative neuroprotective MS therapies. The objective of the study was to compare the sensitivity and reliability of DGM volumes obtained from 1.5T vs. 3T MRI.MethodsFourteen patients with MS [age (mean, range) 50.2 (32.0–60.8) years, disease duration 18.4 (8.2–35.5) years, Expanded Disability Status Scale score 3.1 (0–6), median 3.0] and 15 normal controls (NC) underwent brain 3D T1-weighted paired scan-rescans at 1.5T and 3T. DGM (caudate, thalamus, globus pallidus, and putamen) segmentation was obtained by the fully automated FSL-FIRST pipeline. Both raw and normalized volumes were derived.ResultsDGM volumes were generally higher at 3T vs. 1.5T in both groups. For raw volumes, 3T showed slightly better sensitivity (thalamus: p = 0.02; caudate: p = 0.10; putamen: p = 0.02; globus pallidus: p = 0.0004; total DGM: p = 0.01) than 1.5T (thalamus: p = 0.05; caudate: p = 0.09; putamen: p = 0.03; globus pallidus: p = 0.0006; total DGM: p = 0.02) for detecting DGM atrophy in MS vs. NC. For normalized volumes, 3T but not 1.5T detected atrophy in the globus pallidus in the MS group. Across all subjects, scan-rescan reliability was generally very high for both platforms, showing slightly higher reliability for some DGM volumes at 3T. Raw volumes showed higher reliability than normalized volumes. Raw DGM volume showed higher reliability than the individual structures.ConclusionsThese results suggest somewhat higher sensitivity and reliability of DGM volumes obtained from 3T vs. 1.5T MRI. Further studies should assess the role of this 3T pipeline in tracking potential MS neurotherapeutic effects.
Highlights
The cerebral subcortical deep gray matter nuclei (DGM) are a common, early, and clinically-relevant site of atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS)
The purpose of this study was to employ a fully automated freely available segmentation pipeline to compare the sensitivity and reliability of DGM volumetrics obtained from 1.5T vs. 3T MRI scans in normal controls (NCs) and patients with MS
All patients underwent an examination by an MS specialist neurologist including evaluation of the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) [17] score and timed 25-ft walk (T25FW) [18]
Summary
The cerebral subcortical deep gray matter nuclei (DGM) are a common, early, and clinically-relevant site of atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS). The cerebral subcortical deep gray matter nuclei (DGM) are a common and clinically-relevant site of atrophy, beginning in the early stages of multiple sclerosis (MS) [1,2,3,4]. Chu et al BMC Neurology (2017) 17:172 clinical care and research investigations are 1.5T and, less commonly, 3T To date, it has not been clear whether longitudinal cerebral atrophy determinations would benefit from higher field strength acquisitions. The purpose of this study was to employ a fully automated freely available segmentation pipeline to compare the sensitivity and reliability of DGM volumetrics obtained from 1.5T vs 3T MRI scans in normal controls (NCs) and patients with MS
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