Leptomeningeal contrast enhancement (LMCE) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a newly recognized possible biomarker in multiple sclerosis (MS), associated with MS progression and cortical atrophy. In this study, we aimed to assess the prevalence of LMCE foci and their impact on neurodegeneration and disability. Materials. 54 patients with MS were included in the study. LMCE were detected with a 3 Tesla scanner on postcontrast fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery (FLAIR) sequence. Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, number of relapses during 5 years from MS onset, and number of contrast-enhancing lesions on T1 weighted MRI were counted. Results. LMCE was detected in 41% (22/54) of patients. LMCE-positive patients had longer disease duration (p = 0,0098) and higher EDSS score (p = 0,039), but not a higher relapse rate (p = 0,091). No association of LMCE with higher frequency of contrast-enhancing lesions on T1-weighted images was detected (p = 0,3842). Analysis of covariates, adjusted for age, sex, and disease duration, revealed a significant effect of LMCE on the cortex volume (p = 0.043, F = 2.529), the total grey matter volume (p = 0.043, F = 2.54), and total ventricular volume (p = 0.039, F = 2.605). Conclusions. LMCE was shown to be an independent and significant biomarker of grey matter atrophy and disability in MS.

No abstract

Abstract. Despite a high prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), there are no accepted algorithms of diff erentiating the syndrome and the prognosis evaluation of later cognitive decline at this time. Objective. To identify biomarkers of poor prognosis in the various MCI types by optimizing neuropsychological examination in combination with MRI morphometry of brain structures. Patients and methods. We examined 45 patients (9 men, 36 women, mean age 72 ± 6.7 years) with MCI according to the modifi ed Petersen’s criteria and the DSM-5 criteria. All patients underwent the MMSE scale, the Detailed Neuropsychological Testing (DNT), which included a Ten Words Test (TWT), a “Double Test” (DT), a visual acuity test, a high-fi eld magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain with morphometry of cerebral structures (FreeSurfer, FSL). Results. According to the MMSE score, MCI were found in 26 (58%) patients. During the DNT, depending on the state of memory, 14 participants of the study identifi ed a non-amnestic type of MCI (na-MCI), 15 — an amnestic variant with impaired reproduction (ar-MCI), and 16 people — an amnestic type with a primary memory defect (apm-MCI). Volume changes of the anterior corpus callosum segment (CCA) were signifi cantly associated with the Immediate Recall after 4th reading and the Delayed Recall in the general MCI group (rho = 0.58; 0.58; p < 0.05) and the apmMCI group (rho = 0.6; 0.56; p < 0.05). Kruskal–Wallis Test showed that there were signifi cant group diff erences in the volumes of the CCA, right caudate nucleus, left cerebellar hemisphere cortex, posterior corpus callosum segment and left thalamus. At the same time, the fi rst three structures were combined into a set of informative features for differentiating the type of MCI based on the results of Forward stepwise Discriminant Analysis with a 77.3% accurate classifi cation rate (Wilks’s Lambda: 0.35962; approx. F (6.78) = 8.678, p < 0.001). ROC-analysis established the threshold values of the CCA volumes of ≤ 0.05% and the right caudate nucleus volumes of ≤ 0.23% (81.25% sensitivity in both cases; 62.1% and 60.7% specifi city; AUC 0.787 and 0.767; 95% CI 0.639–0.865 and 0.615–0.881; OR 7.1 and 6.7 (95% CI 1.6–30.6 and 1.6–29), associated with a memory defect in persons with MCI, while the ORs are 7.1 and 6.7 (95% CI 1.6–30.6 and 1.6–29), respectively. When both cerebral structures were included in the logit model, 88.6% classifi cation accuracy, 92.6% sensitivity, and 82.4% specifi city of the method were achieved. Conclusion. It has been demonstrated that classifying patients into the various types of MCI based on the data of memory function refl ected by the DNT and supplemented with MRI morphometry of the brain areas may be used as a sensitive and specifi c instrument for determining the category of patients with a high risk of Alzheimer’s disease. A neuropsychological profi le with a defect in primary memory, atrophic changes in anterior segment of the corpus callosum and the right caudate nucleus have been proposed as biomarkers of poor prognosis. Further longitudinal studies are necessary to clarify the proposed biomarkers of poor prognosis information and to detail the mechanisms of the neurodegenerative process.

INTRODUCTION: Members of the coronavirus family can affect the human central nervous system, causing various neurological complications in patients with SARS-CoV-2. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) seems to be a promising technique for assessing the prognosis of persistent neurological manifestations and complications, determining the completeness of a patient’s recovery during long-term follow-up. OBJECTIVE: To study changes in the metabolites profile in the brain with relation to cognitive impairment in patients with COVID-19.MATERIALS AND METHODS: 68 patients with verified COVID-19 and neurological complaints underwent a diagnostic workup, including a psychoneurological assessment and MRI of the brain with multivoxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS), starting in the first 2 weeks from the onset of the disease. In 11 patients, a complex examination was repeated 7–8 months after the onset of the disease. The exclusion criteria were acute severe neurological symptoms, age over 65 years, artificial lung ventilation, lung CT score III–IV, as well as information about pre-Covid neuropsychiatric disorders. As a control group, earlier collected data of 10 healthy volunteers (age 30–67 years) were taken from a local database. Statistics: Intergroup differences in the ratios of metabolites peak areas determined by the 1H-MPC method were assessed using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test with Bonferroni’s correction for multiple comparisons. Values were considered statistically significant at p<0.05. RESULTS: According to 1H-MRS, all patients with COVID-19 showed metabolic changes in the brain: a statistically significant increase in mI/Cr in the white and gray matter and a diffuse decrease in the levels of Cho/Cr in the supraventricular white matter, even in the absence of any changes in structural MRI. DISCUSSOIN: Patients were divided into three subgroups according to the severity of neurological symptoms that arose with the onset of the coronavirus infection. The most pronounced metabolic changes were found in the group with severe neurological manifestations (NM). At follow-up, a gradual recovery of the metabolite profile was noted, but in our sample group complete normalization was not achieved within the specified time frame. CONCLUSION: The obtained data indicate metabolic changes associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as the prospects for using the 1H-MPC technique in the diagnosis of neurological complications of the new coronavirus infection, including manifestations of a psychoneurological syndrome associated with COVID-19.><0.05.RESULTS: According to 1H-MRS, all patients with COVID-19 showed metabolic changes in the brain: a statistically significant increase in mI/Cr in the white and gray matter and a diffuse decrease in the levels of Cho/Cr in the supraventricular white matter, even in the absence of any changes in structural MRI.DISCUSSOIN: Patients were divided into three subgroups according to the severity of neurological symptoms that arose with the onset of the coronavirus infection. The most pronounced metabolic changes were found in the group with severe neurological manifestations (NM). At follow-up, a gradual recovery of the metabolite profile was noted, but in our sample group complete normalization was not achieved within the specified time frame.CONCLUSION: The obtained data indicate metabolic changes associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as the prospects for using the 1H-MPC technique in the diagnosis of neurological complications of the new coronavirus infection, including manifestations of a psychoneurological syndrome associated with COVID-19.

No abstract

No abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the relationship of global and regional cerebral atrophy and volume of demyelination lesions in the brain with a clinical picture in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The study involved 55 patients with MS. Control group included 22 healthy volunteers. Patients were divided into groups according to the severity of disability, the type and duration of disease. Assessment of general and regional atrophy was performed by post-process volumetric segmentation of MRI data, which was acquired at 3T Philips Achieva scanner. The post-processing was done with the FreeSurfer software. It is shown that in MS patients brain atrophy develops both by means of gray matter (including the cortex and subcortical structures), and white matter, along with demyelination. Global and regional atrophy is associated with the severity of disability of patients according to EDSS scale, but not with the duration and type of the disease. Neurodegenerative changes of brain structures evolve with different rates, have different intensity and determine the set of symptoms of neurological impairment and severity of disability, which indicates the presence of certain patterns of the process of atrophy in the brain, forming the clinical picture of the disease.

No abstract