PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - F. Agosta
AU  - A. Chiò
AU  - M. Cosottini
AU  - N. De Stefano
AU  - A. Falini
AU  - M. Mascalchi
AU  - M.A. Rocca
AU  - V. Silani
AU  - G. Tedeschi
AU  - M. Filippi
TI  - The Present and the Future of Neuroimaging in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
AID  - 10.3174/ajnr.A2043
DP  - 2010 Nov 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 1769--1777
VI  - 31
IP  - 10
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/31/10/1769.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/31/10/1769.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.2010 Nov 01; 31
AB  - SUMMARY: In patients with ALS, conventional MR imaging is frequently noninformative, and its use has been restricted to excluding other conditions that can mimic ALS. Conversely, the extensive application of modern MR imaging−based techniques to the study of ALS has undoubtedly improved our understanding of disease pathophysiology and is likely to have a role in the identification of potential biomarkers of disease progression. This review summarizes how new MR imaging technology is changing dramatically our understanding of the factors associated with ALS evolution and highlights the reasons why it should be used more extensively in studies of disease progression, including clinical trials. ALSamyotrophic lateral sclerosisALSFRSALS Functional Rating ScaleChocholineCrcreatineCSTcorticospinal tractDTIdiffusion tensor imagingFAfractional anisotropyFLAIRfluid-attenuated inversion recoveryfMRIfunctional MR imagingFTDfrontotemporal dementiaFUS/TLSfused in sarcoma/translocated in liposarcoma geneGMgray matter1H-MR spectroscopyproton MR spectroscopyLleftLMNlower motor neuronMDmean diffusivitymInsmyo-inositolMTmagnetization transferMTRMT ratioNAAN-acetylaspartatensnot significantPDproton densityRrightSOD1superoxide dismutase 1SPMstatistical parametric mappingTDP-43TAR DNA-binding protein geneUMNupper motor neuronVBMvoxel-based morphometryWMwhite matter