![]() ![]() Therefore, radiologists are compelled to infere the location of these small structures using anatomical atlases derived from animal histological studies. Usual conventional MRI sequences fail to discriminate thoroughly the nuclei and tracts composing the brainstem because of their small volume. Although MS diagnosis in this essential structure seems crucial to predict long term disabilities, so far few studies have explored the spatial distribution of MS lesions within the brainstem. Īt the junction between the brain and the spinal cord, the brainstem represents a complex interdigitation of compact anatomic pathways and nuclei surrounded by the reticular formation. Most of the times, neurological deficits appear between 20 and 40 years of age, with variable clinical courses. It is the most disabling non-traumatic disease in young people, affecting 2 to 3 times more women than men. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Technical improvements would bring novel parameters to train an artificial neural network for accurate automated labeling of MS lesions within the brainstem. In a further study, hypersignal quantification and microstructure information should be evaluated using relaxometry and diffusion tractography. ConclusionĬombination of FGATIR and PD/T2w sequences opened prospects to define MS elective injury in brainstem tracts and nuclei, with particular lesion features suggesting variations of the inflammatory process within brainstem structures. Most frequently affected nuclei were the vestibular nuclei, the trigeminal tract, the facial nerve and the solitary tract. Most damaged tracts were the superior cerebellar peduncle and the transverse fibers of the pons. Including FGATIR in MR follow-up of MS patients helped to identify structures frequently involved in the inflammatory process. In healthy volunteers, FGATIR allowed a precise visualization of tracts and nuclei according to their myelin density. Then, FGATIR was assessed in MS patients to locate brainstem lesions detected with Proton Density/T2w (PD/T2w) sequence. 3D FGATIR sequence was first performed on healthy volunteers to classify macroscopically identifiable brainstem structures. ![]() MRI was achieved on a 3 T system (MAGNETOM Skyra) using a 64-channel coil. Methodsįrom april to december 2020, 10 healthy volunteers and 50 patients with remitted-relapsing MS (58% female, mean age 36) underwent MR imaging in the Neuro-imaging department of the C.H.N.O. To evaluate the 3D Fast Gray Acquisition T1 Inversion Recovery (FGATIR) sequence for MRI identification of brainstem tracts and nuclei damage in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. ![]()
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