It is known that the damage which occurs in the axons (specific parts of the neurons in charge of the conduction of electrical signal) is, at least partly, responsible for the development of disability in MS. It is also known that acute inflammation is involved in causing axonal damage. The authors of this study have validated the usefulness of a specific MRI technique (MTR) in monitoring the processes of damage (demyelination) and recovery (remyelination) which take place when an acute MS lesion appears, considering that the better the recovery the lower the probability of axonal damage.
authors: Giacomini PS, Levesque IR, Ribeiro L, Narayanan S, Francis SJ, Pike GB, Arnold DL
source: Arch Neurol. 2009 Mar;66(3):375-81
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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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The IFN-beta represents one of the most widely used treatments in MS. Nevertheless, its efficacy might be diminished by the presence of neutralising antibodies (NAbs), which reflect an immune reaction against the treatment. In this multicentre study the authors looked at the harmful effects produced by NAbs on clinical and MRI outcomes produced by NAbs. They found that even though MRI parameters showed worse evolution in people with higher NAbs frequency, no effect of NAbs on clinical outcome was observed.
authors: Durelli L, Barbero P, Cucci A, Ferrero B, Ricci A, Contessa G, De Mercanti S, Ripellino P, Lapuma D, Viglietta E, Bergui M, Versino E, Clerico M
source: Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2009 Mar 11
Source for the above articles : http://www.msif.org
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