The following is a summary of “Hippocampal subfields and thalamic nuclei associations with clinical outcomes in multiple sclerosis: An ultrahigh field MRI study,” published in the June 2024 issue of Neurology by Santini et al.
While thalamic and hippocampal damage are linked to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) progression, a deeper look at specific areas within the regions is needed.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study using 7 Tesla (7T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate how volumes and T1 relaxation times (T1-RT) of specific thalamic and hippocampal regions relate to clinical outcomes in patients with MS.
They obtained high-resolution T1-weighted and T2-weighted images at 7T (n=31), then processed and segmented using Thalamus Optimized Multi Atlas Segmentation (THOMAS) for thalamic nuclei and Automatic Segmentation of Hippocampal Subfields (ASHS) for hippocampal subfields. Pearson correlations were calculated between hippocampal subfields and thalamic nuclei volumes, along with T1-RT and subsequent multi-modal rater-determined and patient-reported clinical outcomes (∼2.5 years after imaging acquisition), while adjusting for confounders and multiple tests.
The results showed that smaller volume in the anterior thalamus region Patient Determined Disease Steps (PDDS) was linked to worse gait function. Larger volume in most functional groups of thalamic nuclei Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) correlated with improved visual information processing and cognitive function. In bilateral medial and left posterior thalamic regions, volumes showed an inverse association with T1-RT, potentially indicating higher tissue degeneration. Marginal associations were observed between right hippocampal subfields (volumes and T1-RT) and subsequent clinical outcomes, though not surviving correction for multiple testing.
Investigators concluded that ultrahigh field MRI revealed signs of structural damage in the thalamic nuclei, which correlated with worse clinical outcomes later in individuals with MS.
Source: msard-journal.com/article/S2211-0348(24)00099-3/abstract#%20
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