@article {Bastianello1863, author = {S Bastianello and C Gasperini and A Paolillo and E Giugni and O Ciccarelli and M P Sormani and M A Horsfield and M Rovaris and C Pozzilli and M Filippi}, title = {Sensitivity of enhanced MR in multiple sclerosis: effects of contrast dose and magnetization transfer contrast.}, volume = {19}, number = {10}, pages = {1863--1867}, year = {1998}, publisher = {American Journal of Neuroradiology}, abstract = {BACKGROUND AND PURPOSES New strategies have been developed to improve the sensitivity of contrast-enhanced MR imaging in quantifying disease activity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The goal of the present study was to evaluate the sensitivity of T1-weighted images after injection of a triple dose of contrast material and application of a magnetization transfer (MT) pulse in the detection of enhancing lesions as compared with the conventional approach.METHODS Monthly MR images were obtained in 13 patients with relapsing-remitting MS for a period of 3 months. The MR studies were performed on two separate occasions with single- and triple-dose contrast material. In each session, T1- and T2-weighted spin-echo images with and without the MT pulse were obtained before and after contrast administration. All images were evaluated in a blinded fashion and scored in random order and consensually by two readers. The number of total and new enhancing lesions and active images was counted.RESULTS Eighty-six percent more enhancing lesions and 54\% more new enhancing lesions were detected with triple-dose as compared with single-dose non-MT sequences, whereas single-dose MT images depicted 33\% more enhancing lesions and 18\% more new enhancing lesions than the single-dose non-MT images. Twenty-nine percent more lesions were detected on triple-dose non-MT images than on single-dose MT images. The combination of a triple dose of contrast material and MT did not produce any significant change in detection of enhancing lesions as compared with a triple dose of contrast without MT.CONCLUSION The use of a triple dose of contrast material is the best approach to maximize the sensitivity of enhanced MR imaging.}, issn = {0195-6108}, URL = {https://www.ajnr.org/content/19/10/1863}, eprint = {https://www.ajnr.org/content/19/10/1863.full.pdf}, journal = {American Journal of Neuroradiology} }