Synopses
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of uncertain etiology which affects patients through a wide range of symptoms including but not limited to: headache, brain fog, incontinence, loss of muscle coordination, emotional disturbance, and loss of ambulation. In neuroimaging, Multiple Sclerosis is identified and diagnosed through MR imaging criteria for dissemination in space and time by the McDonald Criteria. Multiple Sclerosis lesions affect the central nervous system and periventricular, peri-venous lesions have been observed throughout the brain and spine. Lesions are typically identified in T2 FLAIR or T1W in white matter due to their inflammatory nature, scarring, loss of production of the myelin sheath, and blood brain barrier disruption. While auto-immunity has been observed, there have been additional characterizations of disease progression through heterogeneous changes in lesions including blood flow, inflammation and water content, susceptibility and iron deposition, tissue atrophy, demyelination, and abnormal vasculature associated with lesions. The following literature synopses provide wisdom into how STAGE may contribute imaging information for Multiple Sclerosis patients.
