Table 3.
Neuroimaging studies evaluating the relationship between gray matter atrophy, clinical disability, and cognitive impairment.
| Study | Method | Number of Patients | Relevant Findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chen et al. 2004 [79] | 1 yr longitudinal 1.5T; cortical thickness |
24 RRMS, 6 SPMS | Cortical thickness decreased 3.13% ± 2.88%/year in patients with progressive disability. In stable patients 0.06 ± 2.31%/year change in cortical thickness. |
| Tedeschi et al. 2005 [80] | Cross sectional 1.0T; GMF |
427 RRMS, 140 SPMS 104 HC |
GMF is the most significant MRI variable in determining final disability as measured by EDSS. |
| Morgen et al. 2006 [81] | Cross sectional 1.5T; NGMV |
19 RRMS 19 HC |
Patients with low cognitive performance showed more extensive cortical volume loss than HC in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes. |
| Houtchens et al. 2007 [82] | Cross sectional 1.5T; NTV |
26 RRMS, 5 SPMS | Cognitive performance in all domains was correlated with thalamic volume in MS group (r = 0.506–0.724, P < 0.005) and EDSS (r = −0.316, P = 0.005). |
| Fisher et al. 2008 [83] | 4 yr longitudinal 1.5T; GMF |
7 CIS, 36 RRMS, 27 SPMS 17 HC |
GMF correlated with both the MSFC and EDSS. Increasing contribution of GM atrophy to whole brain atrophy as MS advances. |
| Fisniku et al. 2008 [84] | Cross sectional 1.5T; GMF |
29 CIS, 33 RRMS, 11 SPMS 25 HC |
GMF, not white matter volume, correlated with clinical disability as measured by EDSS and MSFC. |
| Horakova et al. 2009 [85] | 5 yr longitudinal 1.5T; NGMV |
181 Early RRMS 27 HC |
NGMV and age were the best predictors of progression of EDSS. |
| Rocca et al. 2010 [86] | 8 yr longitudinal 1.5T; NTV |
20 CIS, 34 RRMS, 19 SPMS 13 HC |
Baseline thalamic atrophy significantly correlates with deterioration in EDSS score. |
| Audoin et al. 2010 [87] | Cross sectional 1.5T; regional GMV |
62 CIS 37 HC |
Right cerebellar atrophy correlated with EDSS scores but no correlation between regional atrophy and cognitive status. |
| Calabrese et al. 2010 [88] | Cross sectional 1.5T; Cortical thickness |
100 RRMS 42 HC |
A widespread pattern of cortical thinning is the best predictor of cognitive impairment as measured by the Rao's Brief Repeatable Battery |
| Calabrese et al. 2010 [89] | Cross sectional 1.5T; Cortical thickness, DGMV |
152 RRMS 42 HC |
Significant atrophy of striatum, thalamus, superior frontal gyrus, and inferior parietal gyrus in fatigued patients compared to nonfatigued patients |
| Calabrese et al. 2011 [90] | 4 yr longitudinal 1.5T; Cortical thickness |
105 CIS 42 HC |
CIS with atrophy of the superior frontal gyrus, thalamus, and/or cerebellum doubled the risk of conversion to MS. |
| Roosendaal et al. 2011 [91] | Cross sectional 1.5T; NGMV |
95 CIS, 657 RRMS, 125 SPMS, 50 PPMS |
NGMV was the strongest predictor of disability and cognitive impairment as measured by EDSS and PASAT. |
| Nocentini et al. 2012 [92] | Cross sectional 1.5T; GMF, regional GMV |
13 RRMS, 5 SPMS | Significant associations found between scores on the SDMT and LDCR-CVLT with regional GM atrophy in prefrontal, parietal, temporal, and insular cortex |
| Amato et al. 2012 [93] | Cross sectional 1.5T; NCV |
29 RIS, 26 RRMS 21 HC |
In RIS, lower NCV correlated with worse cognitive performance. |
| Batista et al. 2012 [94] | Cross sectional 3.0T; NCV, NDGMV |
59 RRMS, 27 SPMS | Both NCV and deep gray matter volumes are significantly correlated with cognitive impairment. Thalamic atrophy plays significant role in IPS slowing. |
| Zivadinov et al. 2013 [95] | 2 yr longitudinal 1.5T; NCV |
136 RRMS | Significant cortical atrophy occurs in early RRMS over 2 years and is associated disability progression. |
Label: IPS: information processing speed. GMF: gray matter fraction. GMV: gray matter volume. MSFC: multiple sclerosis functional composite. NCV: normalized cortical volume. NDGMV: normalized deep gray matter volume. NGMV: normalized gray matter volume. NTV: normalized thalamic volume. RIS: radiologically isolated syndrome. SDMT: symbol digit modality test. LDCR-CVLT: long delayed cued recall-California Verbal Learning Test.