Visualization and quantification of disease progression in multiple system atrophy

✍ Scribed by Till-Karsten Hauser; Andreas Luft; Martin Skalej; Thomas Nägele; Tilo T.J. Kircher; Dirk T. Leube; Jörg B. Schulz

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 279 KB
• Volume: 21
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-3185
• DOI: 10.1002/mds.21032

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

To visualize and quantify disease progression in multiple system atrophy (MSA) from cerebellar type (MSA‐C), we combined two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, voxel‐based morphometry (VBM) and 3D‐based volumetry. Patients suffering from MSA‐C (n = 14) were imaged twice with an interval of 2.0 ± 0.2 years. We first applied VBM to map brain morphology changes between MSA patients and controls and to identify brain areas that showed a significant amount of atrophy. Using 3D‐based volumetry, we confirmed that in MSA‐C patients, the brainstem including medulla and pons, vermis and cerebellar hemispheres, caudate nucleus and putamen showed significant atrophy compared with controls. Next, we used 3D‐based volumetry to analyze the atrophy rates. Atrophy rates in patients with MSA were significantly different from controls for putamen (−11.4% ± 2.6%/year), vermis (−12.3% ± 2.9%/year), and cerebellar hemispheres (−6.6% ± 1.1%/year). The results show that 3D‐based MRI volumetry is a tool that allows the disease progression of MSA to be followed over a time period of 2 years and suggest that it may serve as a surrogate marker in clinical trials to measure disease progression. © 2006 Movement Disorder Society