Relevance of Spinal Cord Abnormalities to Clinical Disability in Multiple Sclerosis: MR Imaging Findings in a Large Cohort of Patients

C. Lukas, M.H. Sombekke, B. Bellenberg, H.K. Hahn, V. Popescu, K. Bendfeldt, E.W. Radue, A. Gass, S.J. Borgwardt, L. Kappos, Y. Naegelin, D.L. Knol, C.H. Polman, J.J.G. Geurts, F. Barkhof, H. Vrenken

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Abstract

Purpose: To determine whether spinal cord atrophy differs among disease subtypes in multiple sclerosis (MS) and whether it offers diagnostic and clinical correlative information beyond that provided by other magnetic resonance (MR) imaging markers. Materials and Methods: The institutional review board approved the study; all subjects gave written informed consent. Upper cervical cord cross-sectional area (UCCA), brain and spinal cord lesion loads, and brain atrophy were measured in 440 patients with MS (311 with relapsing-remitting [RR] MS, 92 with secondary-progressive [SP] MS, and 37 with primary-progressive [PP] MS) studied in two centers. Disability was scored with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), the timed 25-foot walk test (TWT), and the nine-hole peg test. UCCA was compared between groups with the Mann-Whitney U test. Correlations were assessed with the Spearman r test. Multivariate associations between UCCA and clinical and other MR imaging parameters, including number of hypointense brain lesions on T1-weighted MR images, presence of diffuse abnormalities, and number of involved segments in the spinal cord, were assessed by using multiple linear regression, adjusted for study center site. Results: The UCCA in patients with SP MS (median, 79 mm
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)541-551
JournalRadiology
Volume269
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

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