Advanced

AJNR - American Journal of Neuroradiology

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Moriarty, D. M. Articles by Jackson, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Moriarty, D. M. Articles by Jackson, A.

American Journal of Neuroradiology 20:1956-1962 (11 1999)
© 1999 American Society of Neuroradiology

ARTICLE

Memory Dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis Corresponds to Juxtacortical Lesion Load on Fast Fluid-Attenuated Inversion-Recovery MR Images

David Michael Moriarty^,a, Alison Jane Blackshaw^a, Paul Robert Talbot^a, Helen Louise Griffiths^a, Julie Sarah Snowden^a, Valerie Fern Hillier^a, Stephen Capener^a, Roger David Laitt^a and Alan Jackson^a

^a From the Division of Imaging Science and Biomedical Engineering, University of Manchester (D.M.M., V.F.H., S.C., A.J.); and the Departments of Neurology (Cerebral Function Unit) (A.J.B., P.R.T., H.L.G., J.S.S.) and Neuroradiology (R.D.L.), Manchester Royal Infirmary, UK.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: MR imaging is a sensitive diagnostic tool and paraclinical marker of disease activity and prognosis in multiple sclerosis (MS), yet the role of MR imaging of MS is controversial. The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between cognitive function and MS lesion size and position, as shown on comparative images from conventional spin-echo (CSE) and fast fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery (fast FLAIR) MR studies.

METHODS: CSE and fast FLAIR sequences consisted of 40 noncontiguous, 3-mm-thick axial sections matched for geometric position in 18 patients with relapsing-remitting MS. Lesions were scored for size, anatomic position, and their comparative appearance on CSE and fast FLAIR images. The neuropsychological assessment tested general psychological performance, memory, and frontal lobe executive function.

RESULTS: Fast FLAIR images showed significantly more small (146 versus six) and medium-sized (18 versus four) juxtacortical lesions than did CSE sequences. Small juxtacortical lesions displayed only on fast FLAIR images had a distinctive appearance, suggestive of small areas of perivascular inflammation. The number of these lesions corresponded to reduced performance on the fifth and delayed trials of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning memory function test.

CONCLUSION: Fast FLAIR images show small lesions at the juxtacortical boundary that are not seen on CSE studies. The presence of such lesions correlates with impaired retention of information in memory tasks, which is characteristic of cognitive problems in patients with MS.