The Role Of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis .

Abstract

This study aims at emphasizing the role of MRS in management of post therapeutic response of different stages of the disease of multiple sclerosisBackground : Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory, and degenerative autoimmune disorder of the CNS that is characterized by unpredictable clinical relapses and remissions and by progression of disability over time. MRS has the ability to characterize the chemical pathology of brain, as well as regions of the brain that are not associated with structural abnormalities on conventional MRI. So it can help to define the natural history of the disease process and it can help in monitoring metabolic responses to therapy Patients and Methods : A study, included 40 patients who presented with clinically diagnosed multiple sclerosis followed by conventional MRI and referred for further assessment by MR spectroscopy study .Results : The age of included patients ranged from 18 to 45 years with a mean age of 34.67±8.23 years. 60% of the patients were females and 40% of them were males, the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value of H-MRS in the diagnosis of MS were 94.4%, 76.2%, 71.5% respectively compared to 87.3%, 69.2%, and 65.8% in case of c-MRI.Conclusion Adding MR spectroscopy to conventional MRI increases the specificity and accuracy of MRI study in diagnosis and follow up of therapeutic response of Multiple sclerosis