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Joers JM, Adanyeguh IM, Deelchand DK, Hutter DH, Eberly LE, Iltis I, Bushara KO, Lenglet C, Henry PG. Spinal cord magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy detect early-stage alterations and disease progression in Friedreich ataxia. Brain Commun 2022; 4:fcac246. [PMID: 36300142 PMCID: PMC9581897 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 06/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Friedreich ataxia is the most common hereditary ataxia. Atrophy of the spinal cord is one of the hallmarks of the disease. MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy are powerful and non-invasive tools to investigate pathological changes in the spinal cord. A handful of studies have reported cross-sectional alterations in Friedreich ataxia using MRI and diffusion MRI. However, to our knowledge no longitudinal MRI, diffusion MRI or MRS results have been reported in the spinal cord. Here, we investigated early-stage cross-sectional alterations and longitudinal changes in the cervical spinal cord in Friedreich ataxia, using a multimodal magnetic resonance protocol comprising morphometric (anatomical MRI), microstructural (diffusion MRI), and neurochemical (1H-MRS) assessments.We enrolled 28 early-stage individuals with Friedreich ataxia and 20 age- and gender-matched controls (cross-sectional study). Disease duration at baseline was 5.5 ± 4.0 years and Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale total neurological score at baseline was 42.7 ± 13.6. Twenty-one Friedreich ataxia participants returned for 1-year follow-up, and 19 of those for 2-year follow-up (cohort study). Each visit consisted in clinical assessments and magnetic resonance scans. Controls were scanned at baseline only. At baseline, individuals with Friedreich ataxia had significantly lower spinal cord cross-sectional area (-31%, P = 8 × 10-17), higher eccentricity (+10%, P = 5 × 10-7), lower total N-acetyl-aspartate (tNAA) (-36%, P = 6 × 10-9) and higher myo-inositol (mIns) (+37%, P = 2 × 10-6) corresponding to a lower ratio tNAA/mIns (-52%, P = 2 × 10-13), lower fractional anisotropy (-24%, P = 10-9), as well as higher radial diffusivity (+56%, P = 2 × 10-9), mean diffusivity (+35%, P = 10-8) and axial diffusivity (+17%, P = 4 × 10-5) relative to controls. Longitudinally, spinal cord cross-sectional area decreased by 2.4% per year relative to baseline (P = 4 × 10-4), the ratio tNAA/mIns decreased by 5.8% per year (P = 0.03), and fractional anisotropy showed a trend to decrease (-3.2% per year, P = 0.08). Spinal cord cross-sectional area correlated strongly with clinical measures, with the strongest correlation coefficients found between cross-sectional area and Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (R = -0.55, P = 7 × 10-6) and between cross-sectional area and Friedreich ataxia Rating Scale total neurological score (R = -0.60, P = 4 × 10-7). Less strong but still significant correlations were found for fractional anisotropy and tNAA/mIns. We report here the first quantitative longitudinal magnetic resonance results in the spinal cord in Friedreich ataxia. The largest longitudinal effect size was found for spinal cord cross-sectional area, followed by tNAA/mIns and fractional anisotropy. Our results provide direct evidence that abnormalities in the spinal cord result not solely from hypoplasia, but also from neurodegeneration, and show that disease progression can be monitored non-invasively in the spinal cord.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Dinesh K Deelchand
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research and Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Diane H Hutter
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research and Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Lynn E Eberly
- Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Isabelle Iltis
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research and Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Khalaf O Bushara
- Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | | | - Pierre-Gilles Henry
- Correspondence to: Pierre-Gilles Henry, Ph.D Associate Professor, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research 2021 6th Street SE Minneapolis MN 55455, USA E-mail:
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Upper cervical cord atrophy is independent of cervical cord lesion volume in early multiple sclerosis: A two-year longitudinal study. Mult Scler Relat Disord 2022; 60:103713. [PMID: 35272146 DOI: 10.1016/j.msard.2022.103713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Upper cervical cord atrophy and lesions have been shown to be associated with disease and disability progression already in early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). However, their longitudinal relationship remains unclear. OBJECTIVE To investigate the cross-sectional and longitudinal relation between focal T2 cervical cord lesion volume (CCLV) and regional and global mean upper cervical cord area (UCCA), and their relations with disability. METHODS Over a two-year interval, subjects with RRMS (n = 36) and healthy controls (HC, n = 16) underwent annual clinical and MRI examinations. UCCA and CCLV were obtained from C1 through C4 level. Linear mixed model analysis was performed to investigate the relation between UCCA, CCLV, and disability over time. RESULTS UCCA at baseline was significantly lower in RRMS subjects compared to HCs (p = 0.003), but did not decrease faster over time (p ≥ 0.144). UCCA and CCLV were independent of each other at any of the time points or cervical levels, and over time. Lower baseline UCCA, but not CCLV, was related to worsening of both upper and lower extremities function over time. CONCLUSION UCCA and CCLV are independent from each other, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, in early MS. Lower UCCA, but not CCLV, was related to increasing disability over time.
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Navas-Sánchez FJ, Marcos-Vidal L, de Blas DM, Fernández-Pena A, Alemán-Gómez Y, Guzmán-de-Villoria JA, Romero J, Catalina I, Lillo L, Muñoz-Blanco JL, Ordoñez-Ugalde A, Quintáns B, Sobrido MJ, Carmona S, Grandas F, Desco M. Tract-specific damage at spinal cord level in pure hereditary spastic paraplegia type 4: a diffusion tensor imaging study. J Neurol 2022; 269:3189-3203. [PMID: 34999956 DOI: 10.1007/s00415-021-10933-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND SPG4 is a subtype of hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), an upper motor neuron disorder characterized by axonal degeneration of the corticospinal tracts and the fasciculus gracilis. The few neuroimaging studies that have focused on the spinal cord in HSP are based mainly on the analysis of structural characteristics. METHODS We assessed diffusion-related characteristics of the spinal cord using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), as well as structural and shape-related properties in 12 SPG4 patients and 14 controls. We used linear mixed effects models up to T3 in order to analyze the global effects of 'group' and 'clinical data' on structural and diffusion data. For DTI, we carried out a region of interest (ROI) analysis in native space for the whole spinal cord, the anterior and lateral funiculi, and the dorsal columns. We also performed a voxelwise analysis of the spinal cord to study local diffusion-related changes. RESULTS A reduced cross-sectional area was observed in the cervical region of SPG4 patients, with significant anteroposterior flattening. DTI analyses revealed significantly decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) and increased radial diffusivity at all the cervical and thoracic levels, particularly in the lateral funiculi and dorsal columns. The FA changes in SPG4 patients were significantly related to disease severity, measured as the Spastic Paraplegia Rating Scale score. CONCLUSIONS Our results in SPG4 indicate tract-specific axonal damage at the level of the cervical and thoracic spinal cord. This finding is correlated with the degree of motor disability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco J Navas-Sánchez
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Dr Esquerdo 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain. .,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Luis Marcos-Vidal
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Dr Esquerdo 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.,Departamento de Bioingeniería E Ingeniería Aeroespacial, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Daniel Martín de Blas
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Dr Esquerdo 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.,Departamento de Bioingeniería E Ingeniería Aeroespacial, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alberto Fernández-Pena
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Dr Esquerdo 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.,Departamento de Bioingeniería E Ingeniería Aeroespacial, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Yasser Alemán-Gómez
- Department of Psychiatry, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Prilly, Switzerland.,Department of Radiology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.,Medical Image Analysis Laboratory (MIAL), Centre d'Imagerie BioMédicale (CIBM), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Juan A Guzmán-de-Villoria
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Dr Esquerdo 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.,Servicio de Radiodiagnóstico, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Julia Romero
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.,Servicio de Radiodiagnóstico, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Irene Catalina
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.,Servicio de Neurología, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Laura Lillo
- Servicio de Neurología, Hospital Ruber Internacional, Madrid, Spain
| | - José L Muñoz-Blanco
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.,Servicio de Neurología, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Andrés Ordoñez-Ugalde
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, Hospital Clínico Universitario, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.,Laboratorio Biomolecular, Cuenca, Ecuador.,Unidad de Genética y Molecular, Hospital de Especialidades José Carrasco Arteaga, Cuenca, Ecuador
| | - Beatriz Quintáns
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, Hospital Clínico Universitario, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER-U711), Madrid, Spain.,Fundación Pública Galega de Medicina Xenómica, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - María-Jesús Sobrido
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, Hospital Clínico Universitario, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Biomédica, Hospital Clínico Universitario de A Coruña, SERGAS, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Susanna Carmona
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Dr Esquerdo 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Grandas
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.,Servicio de Neurología, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Desco
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Dr Esquerdo 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.,Departamento de Bioingeniería E Ingeniería Aeroespacial, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
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Iliescu BF, Gutu P, Dabija MG. Traumatic subaxial cervical spine injury - Improving initial evaluation through correlation of diffusion tensor imaging and subaxial cervical spine injury classification SLIC score. Surg Neurol Int 2021; 12:10. [PMID: 33500825 PMCID: PMC7827446 DOI: 10.25259/sni_274_2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Traumatic injury to spine and spinal cord represents a devastating condition, with a huge risk for permanent severe disabilities. Predicting the long-term outcome in this type of trauma is a very difficult task being under the influence of a wide spectrum of biomechanical and pathophysiological factors. The advent of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) structural evaluation of the spinal cord brought critical supplementary data in the initial evaluation of these cases. Although edema and hemorrhage proved to be valuable in predicting the outcome, there is a well-documented discrepancy between MRI findings and clinical status. Methods We performed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) MR in 22 symptomatic patients with traumatic cervical spine injuries (mean age 49.6 ± 16, range from 17 to 74 years, 20 males and 2 females). DTI parameters were computed in 15 patients. Regional apparent diffusion coefficient, fractional anisotropy (FA), and fiber length (FL) were calculated in the region of interest defined as the region of maximum structural MR alterations and in the normal cord (above or below the level of the injury). The values for normal and pathological cord were compared. The clinical deficit was assessed with ASIA and subaxial cervical spine injury classification (SLIC) scores. We looked at the correlation between the DTI measures and clinical scores. Results There is a highly significant difference between normal and pathological spinal cord for all DTI properties measured. There is also a strong correlation between DTI measures and SLIC clinical score, especially for FA. Significant results were obtained for CDA and FL as well although with lesser statistical power. Conclusion Our results suggest that DTI measures, especially FA, represent a strong indicator of the severity of the traumatic cervical cord injury. It correlates very well with SLCI score and can be used as an additional confirmation of the real degree of level lesioning and as a prognostic factor for the neurological outcome regardless of the choice of treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bogdan Florin Iliescu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Prof. Dr. N. Oblu Clinical Emergency Hospital, Iasi, Romania
| | - Pavel Gutu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Schwarzwald-Baar Klinikum, Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany
| | - Marius Gabriel Dabija
- Department of Neurosurgery, Prof. Dr. N. Oblu Clinical Emergency Hospital, Iasi, Romania
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