Correlation between brain MRI lesion volume and disability in patients with multiple sclerosis

Acta Neurol Scand. 1996 Aug;94(2):93-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1996.tb07036.x.

Abstract

In this study we evaluated the relationships between clinical variables and lesion volumes measured from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in a large cohort of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. One hundred and thirty patients with MS entered the study: 36 patients had relapsing-remitting (RR), 39 benign (B), 42 secondary progressive (SP) and 13 primary progressive (PP) courses. There was a significant correlation (r = 0.3; p = 0.0006) between the total lesion load and the EDSS score when the whole cohort of patients was considered. This correlation increased (r = 0.5) when only patients with RRMS and SPMS were considered. Our data indicate that a correlation between disability and MRI lesion volume in MS exists, but its strength is moderate.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Brain / physiopathology*
  • Disability Evaluation*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Multiple Sclerosis / diagnosis*
  • Multiple Sclerosis / physiopathology*