Researchers have designed a new MRI procedure that allows for an earlier and more reliable diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
- Researchers have developed a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure capable of assessing the severity and progression of autoimmune disease with reliability and precision never before achieved.
- One of the key characteristics of multiple sclerosis (MS) is that it causes the patient’s immune system to attack and destroy the myelin sheaths of the central nervous system, causing irreversible impairment of vision, language, coordination of movements…
- The new procedure, successfully tested on two healthy individuals, directly measures the quantity of myelin present in different areas of the brain, which makes it possible to precisely map the state of the disease. By using this technique in the future, doctors could detect MS early and thus better monitor its progression.
“Detect multiple sclerosis early and better monitor its progression.” Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, have developed a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure capable of assessing the severity and progression of autoimmune disease with reliability and precision never before equaled. Their work has been published in journals Science Advances And Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
Mapping myelin seeds to diagnose multiple sclerosis
A key feature of multiple sclerosis (MS) is that it causes the patient’s immune system to attack and destroy the myelin sheaths of the central nervous system. Like a plastic covering around a copper wire, these protective sheaths insulate the nerve fibers and ensure that electrical impulses travel efficiently from one nerve cell to the next. If they are damaged or become too thin, this can lead to irreversible problems with vision, language, coordination of movements, etc.
While until now it has not been possible to visualize the myelin seeds well enough to diagnose MS, the new MRI method allows them to be mapped more precisely than ever before. And for good reason, it directly measures the quantity of myelin present in the different areas of the brain, by affixing numerical values to the images.
For early detection of multiple sclerosis
“The number 8, for example, means that the myelin content at this stage is only 8% of a maximum value of 100, indicating significant thinning of the myelin sheaths,” can we read in a communicated. Concretely, “the darker the area and the smaller the number in the image, the more the ducts have been reduced”. By using this technique in the future, doctors could detect MS early and thus better monitor the progression of the disease. Not to mention the potential development of new drugs that this makes possible.
The researchers have already successfully tested their MRI procedure on tissue samples from MS patients and two healthy people. They now plan to test it on patients affected by the autoimmune disease. As a reminder, no less than 110,000 people are affected in France by MS, which constitutes the leading cause of severe non-traumatic disability in young adults.
