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  • Title: Axonal injury in early multiple sclerosis is irreversible and independent of the short-term disease evolution.
    Author: Rovaris M, Gambini A, Gallo A, Falini A, Ghezzi A, Benedetti B, Sormani MP, Martinelli V, Comi G, Filippi M.
    Journal: Neurology; 2005 Nov 22; 65(10):1626-30. PubMed ID: 16301492.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: To define the nature and the temporal evolution of neuronal/axonal injury in patients at the earliest clinical stage of multiple sclerosis (MS), using whole brain N-acetylaspartate (WBNAA) proton MR spectroscopy (1H-MRS). METHODS: Thirty-five patients at presentation with clinically isolated syndromes (CIS) and MRI evidence of disease dissemination in space were studied. The following scans of the brain were acquired within 3 months from the onset of the disease and after 12 months: 1) dual-echo; 2) WBNAA 1H-MRS; 3) pre- and postcontrast T1-weighted. The same scans were obtained in 12 age-matched healthy subjects, without contrast administration. In patients, conventional MRI scans were also repeated 3 months after the first scanning session, to assess the presence of early disease dissemination in time (DIT). RESULTS: Over the study period, 24 patients showed MRI evidence of disease DIT, thus fulfilling the criteria for a diagnosis of MS. The average WBNAA amount was lower in CIS patients than in controls both at baseline (13.7 vs 16.9 mM, p < 0.001) and at 1-year follow-up (12.6 vs 16.2 mM, p < 0.001), but the average yearly percentage change of WBNAA did not differ between the two groups. No MRI or 1H-MRS quantities were significantly associated with the disease DIT over the study period. CONCLUSION: Irreversible brain damage associated with axonal dysfunction occurs at a very early stage in patients with clinically isolated syndromes, but it does not seem to be related with the disease evolution in the subsequent short-term period.
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