Fig. 6.

Expansion of a rim lesion. Patient 4, a 29-year-old lady with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis lasting for 5 years, EDSS 2. 7 T FLAIR–SWI data show several WM hyperintense lesions typical for the disease. One large periventricular hyperintense lesion with an encircling hypointense rim is indicated by a white rectangle and magnified. Within this lesion, tubular hypointense structures suggestive of veins and circumscribed nodular hypointensities are visible. Images demonstrate a slow expansion of the posterior parts of this lesion over 3.5 years, leading to a fusion of initially separated lesion parts. Three contiguous imaging slices (−1, 0, +1) show that expansion and fusion are not due to willful slice sampling. Note the global brain atrophy of this patient over time, which is evident from the widening of the ventricles. BL baseline, FU follow-up, yr year