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Background: The evaluation of lumbar spine degeneration on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is prone to inter-reader variability, including when assessing foraminal changes. This variability, often due to subjective criteria and inconsistent terminology, may affect clinical correlations. Standardized criteria could help improve agreement among readers.MRI of the lumbar spine of 50 randomly selected patients were evaluated by 12 independent readers. Foraminal stenosis was assessed using four different rating scales for each patient. The first scale classified stenosis as presence/absence of neurologic compromise of the spinal nerve root at the foramen, the second scale classified stenosis as absent/mild/moderate/severe, the third scale as normal/contact of disk or osteophyte with the nerve root/deviation of the nerve root/compression of the nerve root, and the fourth scale utilized the Lee et al. criteria. Agreement analysis was performed using Fleiss’ kappa coefficients.Agreement was moderate using the first scale (k = 0.439), and significantly lower using the second, third and fourth scales (k = 0.310, k = 0.311, k = 0.295, respectively). When comparing the agreements obtained between board certified neuroradiologists and between neuroradiology residents, there was statistically significant differences when using the third and fourth scales, where the agreement for board certified neuroradiologists was higher, but still only fair. Individual kappas showed that in the second, third, and fourth scales the levels of agreement were higher in the extremes of the scale, namely, when there was no stenosis or when the stenosis was maximal with nerve compression.Levels of agreement can differ depending on the scale used. Simpler dichotomous scales may return higher levels of agreement compared to more complex ones. For the non-dichotomous scales, using different scales may not result in overall different levels of agreement. Given the overall low inter-rater agreements observed, there is probably significant potential to enhance agreement through more rigorous training and consensus-building.Materials and methods: The evaluation of lumbar spine degeneration on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is prone to inter-reader variability, including when assessing foraminal changes. This variability, often due to subjective criteria and inconsistent terminology, may affect clinical correlations. Standardized criteria could help improve agreement among readers.MRI of the lumbar spine of 50 randomly selected patients were evaluated by 12 independent readers. Foraminal stenosis was assessed using four different rating scales for each patient. The first scale classified stenosis as presence/absence of neurologic compromise of the spinal nerve root at the foramen, the second scale classified stenosis as absent/mild/moderate/severe, the third scale as normal/contact of disk or osteophyte with the nerve root/deviation of the nerve root/compression of the nerve root, and the fourth scale utilized the Lee et al. criteria. Agreement analysis was performed using Fleiss’ kappa coefficients.Agreement was moderate using the first scale (k = 0.439), and significantly lower using the second, third and fourth scales (k = 0.310, k = 0.311, k = 0.295, respectively). When comparing the agreements obtained between board certified neuroradiologists and between neuroradiology residents, there was statistically significant differences when using the third and fourth scales, where the agreement for board certified neuroradiologists was higher, but still only fair. Individual kappas showed that in the second, third, and fourth scales the levels of agreement were higher in the extremes of the scale, namely, when there was no stenosis or when the stenosis was maximal with nerve compression.Levels of agreement can differ depending on the scale used. Simpler dichotomous scales may return higher levels of agreement compared to more complex ones. For the non-dichotomous scales, using different scales may not result in overall different levels of agreement. Given the overall low inter-rater agreements observed, there is probably significant potential to enhance agreement through more rigorous training and consensus-building.Results: The evaluation of lumbar spine degeneration on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is prone to inter-reader variability, including when assessing foraminal changes. This variability, often due to subjective criteria and inconsistent terminology, may affect clinical correlations. Standardized criteria could help improve agreement among readers.MRI of the lumbar spine of 50 randomly selected patients were evaluated by 12 independent readers. Foraminal stenosis was assessed using four different rating scales for each patient. The first scale classified stenosis as presence/absence of neurologic compromise of the spinal nerve root at the foramen, the second scale classified stenosis as absent/mild/moderate/severe, the third scale as normal/contact of disk or osteophyte with the nerve root/deviation of the nerve root/compression of the nerve root, and the fourth scale utilized the Lee et al. criteria. Agreement analysis was performed using Fleiss’ kappa coefficients.Agreement was moderate using the first scale (k = 0.439), and significantly lower using the second, third and fourth scales (k = 0.310, k = 0.311, k = 0.295, respectively). When comparing the agreements obtained between board certified neuroradiologists and between neuroradiology residents, there was statistically significant differences when using the third and fourth scales, where the agreement for board certified neuroradiologists was higher, but still only fair. Individual kappas showed that in the second, third, and fourth scales the levels of agreement were higher in the extremes of the scale, namely, when there was no stenosis or when the stenosis was maximal with nerve compression.Levels of agreement can differ depending on the scale used. Simpler dichotomous scales may return higher levels of agreement compared to more complex ones. For the non-dichotomous scales, using different scales may not result in overall different levels of agreement. Given the overall low inter-rater agreements observed, there is probably significant potential to enhance agreement through more rigorous training and consensus-building.Conclusions: The evaluation of lumbar spine degeneration on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is prone to inter-reader variability, including when assessing foraminal changes. This variability, often due to subjective criteria and inconsistent terminology, may affect clinical correlations. Standardized criteria could help improve agreement among readers.MRI of the lumbar spine of 50 randomly selected patients were evaluated by 12 independent readers. Foraminal stenosis was assessed using four different rating scales for each patient. The first scale classified stenosis as presence/absence of neurologic compromise of the spinal nerve root at the foramen, the second scale classified stenosis as absent/mild/moderate/severe, the third scale as normal/contact of disk or osteophyte with the nerve root/deviation of the nerve root/compression of the nerve root, and the fourth scale utilized the Lee et al. criteria. Agreement analysis was performed using Fleiss’ kappa coefficients.Agreement was moderate using the first scale (k = 0.439), and significantly lower using the second, third and fourth scales (k = 0.310, k = 0.311, k = 0.295, respectively). When comparing the agreements obtained between board certified neuroradiologists and between neuroradiology residents, there was statistically significant differences when using the third and fourth scales, where the agreement for board certified neuroradiologists was higher, but still only fair. Individual kappas showed that in the second, third, and fourth scales the levels of agreement were higher in the extremes of the scale, namely, when there was no stenosis or when the stenosis was maximal with nerve compression.Levels of agreement can differ depending on the scale used. Simpler dichotomous scales may return higher levels of agreement compared to more complex ones. For the non-dichotomous scales, using different scales may not result in overall different levels of agreement. Given the overall low inter-rater agreements observed, there is probably significant potential to enhance agreement through more rigorous training and consensus-building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease that may also be associated with vascular dysfunction. One master component of vascular regulation is cerebral autoregulation (CA). We aimed to investigate the integrity of CA in MS patients and study its relationship with autonomic dysfunction (AD), magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) lesion load and hemodynamic parameters. We enrolled 20 relapsing-remitting MS and 20 healthy subjects. CA was assessed by transfer function analysis parameters (coherence, gain and phase), as obtained in the very low, low and high-frequency domains (VLF, LF, HF, respectively). We evaluated the autonomic parameters heart rate variability and spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity (BRS). There were no significant differences in CA parameters between MS and controls (p > 0.05). Lesion load was not correlated with any CA parameter. LF gain was positively correlated with BRS in both groups (MS: p = 0.017; controls: p = 0.025). Brainstem lesion load in MS was associated with higher systolic blood pressure (SBP; p = 0.009). Our findings suggest that CA is preserved in our MS cohort. On the other hand, AD in MS patients with brainstem lesions could contribute to the increase of supine SBP. Whether this systemic deregulation could contribute to disease burden remains to be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background MS-associated autonomic dysfunction (AD) in multiple sclerosis (MS) is poorly understood and the best method for its detection unestablished. We compared classical Ewing battery and newer methods as heart rate variability (HRV) and spontaneous baroreflex sensibility (BRS) to detect AD in MS and related them to central autonomic network (CAN) lesions. Methods We enrolled 20 relapsing-remitting MS patients, median age of 36 (interquartile range 32–46) years, disease duration of 5.5 (2.2–6.8) years, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score of 1.0 (1.0–1.5) and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. We assessed Ewing battery and spontaneous HRV and BRS. CAN involvement was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging. Results HRV showed both parasympathetic and sympathetic significant impairment in MS ( p < 0.05). From Ewing battery only isometric test was significantly decreased in MS ( p = 0.006). Disease duration and severity, lesion burden and CAN involvement were not correlated with laboratorial parameters. Conclusions Our MS cohort had both sympathetic and parasympathetic dysfunction independently from disease duration, neurological deficits and lesion burden or CAN involvement. HRV analysis maybe more useful than classical Ewing battery to screen AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]