Article Text
Abstract
To assess whether brain tissue loss occurs after profound and sustained suppression of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enhancement, we measured brain volume changes from 10 patients with rapidly evolving secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation and followed up for 24 months. An average yearly decrease of brain volume of about 1.9% was observed despite only five enhancing lesions seen on triple dose follow up scans of two patients. This indicates that, in MS, progressive loss of tissue can occur independently of concomitant MRI-visible inflammation.
- multiple sclerosis
- enhancement
- brain atrophy
- autologous stem cell transplantation
- AHSCT, autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation
- DTPA, diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid
- G-CSF, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor
- Gd, gadolinium
- MRI, magnetic resonance imaging
- MS, multiple sclerosis
- NBV, normalised brain volume
- PBVC, percentage normalised brain volume change
- SPMS, secondary progressive multiple sclerosis
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- AHSCT, autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation
- DTPA, diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid
- G-CSF, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor
- Gd, gadolinium
- MRI, magnetic resonance imaging
- MS, multiple sclerosis
- NBV, normalised brain volume
- PBVC, percentage normalised brain volume change
- SPMS, secondary progressive multiple sclerosis
Footnotes
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↵* See Appendix for a list of the members of the Italian GITMO-NEURO Intergroup on Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.
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Competing interests: none declared