Magnetic resonance disease severity scale (MRDSS) for patients with multiple sclerosis: a longitudinal study.

Publication Type	Academic Article
Authors	Moodie J, Healy B, Buckle G, Gauthier S, Glanz B, Arora A, Ceccarelli A, Tauhid S, Han X, Venkataraman A, Chitnis T, Khoury S, Guttmann C, Weiner H, Neema M, Bakshi R
Journal	J Neurol Sci
Volume	315
Issue	1-2
Pagination	49-54
Date Published	12/28/2011
ISSN	1878-5883
Keywords	Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Multiple Sclerosis, Severity of Illness Index
Abstract	BACKGROUND: We previously described a composite MRI scale combining T1-lesions, T2-lesions and whole brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS): the magnetic resonance disease severity scale (MRDSS). OBJECTIVE: Test strength of the MRDSS vs. individual MRI measures for sensitivity to longitudinal change. METHODS: We studied 84 MS patients over a 3.2±0.3 year follow-up. Baseline and follow-up T2-lesion volume (T2LV), T1-hypointense lesion volume (T1LV), and brain parenchymal fraction (BPF) were measured. MRDSS was the combination of standardized T2LV, T1/T2 ratio and BPF. RESULTS: Patients had higher MRDSS at follow-up vs. baseline (p<0.001). BPF decreased (p<0.001), T1/T2 increased (p<0.001), and T2LV was unchanged (p>0.5). Change in MRDSS was larger than the change in MRI subcomponents. While MRDSS showed significant change in relapsing-remitting (RR) (p<0.001) and secondary progressive (SP) phenotypes (p<0.05), BPF and T1/T2 ratio changed only in RRMS (p<0.001). Longitudinal change in MRDSS was significantly different between RRMS and SPMS (p=0.0027); however, change in the individual MRI components did not differ. Evaluation with respect to predicting on-study clinical worsening as measured by EDSS revealed a significant association only for T2LV (p=0.038). CONCLUSION: Results suggest improved sensitivity of MRDSS to longitudinal change vs. individual MRI measures. MRDSS has particularly high sensitivity in RRMS.
DOI	10.1016/j.jns.2011.11.040
PubMed ID	22209496
PubMed Central ID	PMC3319060