MRI Technique Used to Detect Early Signs of Multiple Sclerosis

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Released: Fri 16-Jul-2004, 06:10 ET

MRI Technique Used to Detect Early Signs of Multiple Sclerosis

Description

An innovative study at Robarts Research Institute provides early evidence

that hospital MRI scanners can be used to detect distinct brain cell

abnormalities that are predictors of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Newswise ‹ An innovative study at Robarts Research Institute provides early

evidence that hospital MRI scanners can be used to detect distinct brain

cell abnormalities that are predictors of multiple sclerosis (MS).

In a preclinical study in rats with a disease similar to the human form,

Robarts scientist Dr. a used an injection of nano-particles of

iron oxide, which exhibit magnetic qualities and can be detected by an MRI

scanner.

During the acute inflammatory phase of the disease, these particles were

then picked up by circulating inflammatory cells (leukocytes) that went on

to infiltrate brain tissue and cause abnormalities called perivascular

cuffs.

These abnormalities -- seen in this study for the first time using MRI --

can be used to predict the occurrence of multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions.

The results of the study, co-authored by Ayman Oweida and Beth Dunn, are

featured on the cover of the latest issue of the scientific journal

Molecular Imaging.

³Our collaborative research projects in molecular imaging at Robarts -- in

traumatic spinal cord injury, diabetes, tumor cell tracking and MS -- are

yielding very promising results,² said Dr. , whose study used a novel

micro-imaging system fitted to the MRI scanner at London Health Sciences

Centre that was developed and built in collaboration with Dr. Rutt,

also a Robarts scientist, and colleague Alejski, an electrical

engineer. ³The ultimate goal of this work is to be able to give clinicians

new ways to see and treat disease at the earliest possible stage.²

Molecular imaging, a branch of ³nano-medicine², is an emerging field that

aims to advance understanding in biology and medicine by capturing

non-invasive images of important cellular and molecular events during the

onset, progression and treatment of disease. Last year, Drs. and

Rutt, published the first evidence that individual cells could be detected

using 1.5 Tesla MRI scanners, which are found in thousands of hospitals

around the world.

Although molecular imaging is in its formative stages (this September, for

example, marks only the 3rd annual meeting of the Society for Molecular

Imaging), targeting molecular processes will allow earlier detection and

characterization of disease, direct assessment of treatment effects and

better understanding of disease processes in living tissues. This represents

a profound shift in the overall purpose of medical imaging, to provide more

of physiological and functional information vs. the conventional

³structural-anatomic² approach practiced by radiologists.

³It is an exciting thought to consider the imaging and detection of

Œpre-disease¹ states at a time when intervention may provide more effective

therapy,² said Dr. , who is also an assistant professor in the

Department of Medical Biophysics at The University of Western Ontario.