Connectome MRI in evaluation of neurorehabilitation results in patients with multiple sclerosis (review)

Abstract

The presented literature review is devoted to the assessment of the brain connectivity using specialized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques — resting state functional MRI and MR tractography, and the possibilities of their use in the rehabilitation of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).MS is the leading cause of non-traumatic neurological disability in young adult patients in the Russian Federation, and its prevalence continues to grow steadily. The use of complex neurorehabilitation is the basis to improve the better functional outcome of patients suffering from this disease.At the same time, in clinical practice, the evaluation of the effectiveness of rehabilitation results is carried out purely on the basis of clinical scales. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) makes it possible to identify connections between various functionally related regions of the brain without any external stimulation, as well as to assess the state of the connectome in dynamics.This review article discusses the main directions of modern methods of neurorehabilitation, assesses impairments in the DTI and rs-fMRI measurments in patients with multiple sclerosis compared with healthy volunteers, as well as changes in these parameters over time after the use of various neurorehabilitation methods aimed at restoring motor and cognitive functions.