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Background and purpose Olfactory bulb atrophy is associated with cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, and with major depression. It has been suggested that olfactory bulb atrophy or dysfunction is therefore a marker of neurodegeneration. Multiple sclerosis ( MS) is now also recognized as having a significant neurodegenerative component. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate associations between physical and cognitive disability, depression and olfactory bulb volume in MS. Methods In total, 146 patients with MS (mean age 49.0 ± 10.9 years, disease duration 21.2 ± 9.3 years, median Expanded Disability Status Scale ( EDSS) score 3.0 (range 0-7.5), 103 relapsing−remitting, 35 secondary progressive and eight primary progressive MS) underwent a standardized neurological examination, comprehensive neuropsychological testing and magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI); data of 27 healthy people served as age- and gender-matched control subjects. The olfactory bulb was semi-automatically segmented on high-resolution three-dimensional T1-weighted MRI. Results Mean olfactory bulb volume was lower in MS patients than healthy controls (183.9 ± 40.1 vs. 209.2 ± 59.3 μl; P = 0.018 adjusted to intracranial volume). Olfactory bulb volume was similar across clinical disease subtypes and did not correlate with cognitive performance, EDSS scores or total proton density/T2 white matter lesion volume. However, in progressive MS, the mean olfactory bulb volume correlated with depression scores (Spearman's rho = −0.38, P < 0.05) confirmed using a multivariate linear regression analysis including cognitive fatigue scores. This association was not observed in relapsing−remitting MS. Conclusion Olfactory bulb volume was lower in MS than in healthy controls. Olfactory bulb volume does not seem to mirror cognitive impairment in MS; however, it is associated with higher depression scores in progressive MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: In the SELECT study, treatment with daclizumab high-yield process (DAC HYP) versus placebo reduced the frequency of gadolinium-enhancing (Gd+) lesions in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The objective of this post hoc analysis of SELECT was to evaluate the effect of DAC HYP on the evolution of new Gd+ lesions to T1 hypointense lesions (T1 black holes). Methods: SELECT was a randomized double-blind study of subcutaneous DAC HYP 150 or 300 mg or placebo every 4 weeks. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were performed at baseline and weeks 24, 36 and 52 in all patients and monthly between weeks 4 and 20 in a subset of patients. MRI scans were evaluated for new Gd+ lesions that evolved to T1 black holes at week 52. Data for the DAC HYP groups were pooled for analysis. Results: Daclizumab high-yield process reduced the number of new Gd+ lesions present at week 24 (P = 0.005) or between weeks 4 and 20 (P = 0.014) that evolved into T1 black holes at week 52 versus placebo. DAC HYP treatment also reduced the percentage of patients with Gd+ lesions evolving to T1 black holes versus placebo. Conclusions: Treatment with DAC HYP reduced the evolution of Gd+ lesions to T1 black holes versus placebo, suggesting that inflammatory lesions that evolved during DAC HYP treatment are less destructive than those evolving during placebo treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose In the SELECT study, treatment with daclizumab high-yield process ( DAC HYP) versus placebo reduced the frequency of gadolinium-enhancing (Gd+) lesions in patients with relapsing−remitting multiple sclerosis ( RRMS). The objective of this post hoc analysis of SELECT was to evaluate the effect of DAC HYP on the evolution of new Gd+ lesions to T1 hypointense lesions (T1 black holes). Methods SELECT was a randomized double-blind study of subcutaneous DAC HYP 150 or 300 mg or placebo every 4 weeks. Magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI) scans were performed at baseline and weeks 24, 36 and 52 in all patients and monthly between weeks 4 and 20 in a subset of patients. MRI scans were evaluated for new Gd+ lesions that evolved to T1 black holes at week 52. Data for the DAC HYP groups were pooled for analysis. Results Daclizumab high-yield process reduced the number of new Gd+ lesions present at week 24 ( P = 0.005) or between weeks 4 and 20 ( P = 0.014) that evolved into T1 black holes at week 52 versus placebo. DAC HYP treatment also reduced the percentage of patients with Gd+ lesions evolving to T1 black holes versus placebo. Conclusions Treatment with DAC HYP reduced the evolution of Gd+ lesions to T1 black holes versus placebo, suggesting that inflammatory lesions that evolved during DAC HYP treatment are less destructive than those evolving during placebo treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Non-communicating syringomyelia ( NCS) has occasionally been described in case reports and small case series as an incidental finding of spinal cord (SC) pathology in patients with multiple sclerosis ( MS), but only little is known on the clinical course and progression of NCS, and in more general terms on the prognosis of patients with MS and NCS. Methods Nine patients with MS with known NCS at baseline and a control group of 18 age-, sex- and disease course-matched patients with MS without NCS were recruited for a follow-up visit after 6 years. All 27 patients underwent clinical examination and brain magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI), and 8/9 patients with NCS were additionally studied with MRI of the SC. MRI data were analysed for changes in length and maximal cross-sectional area of the NCS, lesion volumes of the brain and cord as well as for volumetric metrics of the whole brain (using SIENAX), the cerebellum and medulla oblongata (using ECCET). Results NCS did not significantly change in size when corrected for multiple comparisons. The clinical data (annual relapse rate, EDSS and disease duration) and MRI metrics (T2 and T1 lesion load; whole brain, cerebellar and medulla oblongata volumes as well as their percentage volume change per year) did not significantly differ between patients with MS with or without NCS. Conclusion The stable findings regarding size and shape of the syrinx and lack of distinguishing MRI and clinical features support the assumption that NCS is not defining a prognostically or pathogenetically distinct subgroup of patients with MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is an uncommon and often fatal demyelinating disease of human central nervous system, which is caused by reactivation of the polyomavirus JC (JCV). PML generally occurs in patients with profound immunosuppression such as AIDS patients. Recently, a number of PML cases have been associated with administration of natalizumab for treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Diagnosis and management of PML became a major concern after its occurrence in multiple sclerosis patients treated with natalizumab. Diagnosis of PML usually rests on neuroimaging in the appropriate clinical context and is further confirmed by cerebrospinal fluid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for JCV DNA. Treatment with antiretroviral therapies in HIV-seropositive patients or discontinuing natalizumab in MS patients with PML may lead to the development of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) which presents with deterioration of the previous symptoms and may lead to death. In patients under treatment with monoclonal antibodies in routine practice, or new ones in ongoing clinical trials, differentiating PML from new MS lesions on brain MRI is critical for both the neurologists and neuroradiologists. In this review, we discuss the clinical features, neuroimaging manifestations of PML, IRIS and neuroimaging clues to differentiate new MS lesions from PML. In addition, various neuroimaging features of PML on the non-conventional MR techniques such as diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and MR spectroscopy (MRS) are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sahraian MA, Radue E-W, Haller S, Kappos L. Black holes in multiple sclerosis: definition, evolution, and clinical correlations. Acta Neurol Scand: 2010: 122: 1–8. © 2009 The Authors Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Munksgaard. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a sensitive paraclinical test for diagnosis and assessment of disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS) and is often used to evaluate therapeutic efficacy. The formation of new T2-hyperintense MRI lesions is commonly used to measure disease activity, but lacks specificity because edema, inflammation, gliosis, and axonal loss all contribute to T2 lesion formation. As the role of neurodegeneration in the pathophysiology of MS has become more prominent, the formation and evolution of chronic or persistent Tl-hypointense lesions (black holes) have been used as markers of axonal loss and neuronal destruction to measure disease activity. Despite the use of various detection methods, including advanced imaging techniques such as magnetization transfer imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy, correlation of persistent black holes with clinical outcomes in patients with MS remains uncertain. Furthermore, although axonal loss and neuronal tissue destruction are known to contribute to irreversible disability in patients with MS, there are limited data on the effect of therapy on longitudinal change in Tl-hypointense lesion volume. Measurement of black holes in clinical studies may elucidate the underlying pathophysiology of MS and may be an additional method of evaluating therapeutic efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]