summary: In this study the authors aimed to investigate, in people with secondary progressive MS, the correlation of disability with damage seen in the normal appearing brain tissue by means of a new MRI technique (MTR) and the lesion burden measured by means of conventional (T2-wighted) MRI. They found that the damage in the grey matter showed the strongest correlation with clinical outcome. These results highlight the usefulness of the MTR as a technique which accurately reflects brain tissue changes in MS (even better than conventional MRI) and also emphasise the role of the grey matter in the development of disability.

authors: Hayton T, Furby J, Smith KJ, Altmann DR, Brenner R, Chataway J, Hughes RA, Hunter K, Tozer DJ, Miller DH, Kapoor R

source: J Neurol. 2009 Mar 6

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