Location and morphology of cortical lesions in multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. Diagnosis is based on the Mc-Donalds criteria, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, and the expanded disability status scale (EDSS)which assesses disease progression. These criteria do not include the recently described cortical lesions. The aim of the study was to describe the most frequent location and morphology of cortical lesions in patients with MS in Puebla, Mexico. Methods: A descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional, and analytical study was conducted on patients with MS at a tertiary care hospital. Patients diagnosed with relapsing-remitting, secondary-progressive, and progressive-relapsing MS variants with cranial magnetic resonance imaging were included in the study. Age, sex, MS variant, EDSS score, cognitive impairment, annual relapse rate, morphology, location, and number of cortical lesions were evaluated. Descriptive statistics were used. To compare features between groups, the χ 2 test was used, and for correlations, the Spearman's Correlation Coefficient was used. A p ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Twenty-five patients met the selection criteria. The most frequent location of cortical lesions was the parietal region 84%, and the second was the temporal region 16%. The most common morphology was juxtacortical at 64% and mixed at 36%. The most frequent variant of MS was relapsing-remitting, present in 92%, and 8% had the secondary progressive variant. In the EDSS scale, the scores most frequently observed were 0.0 and 3.5. Conclusions: The most frequent location of cortical lesions was in the parietal region, and the most common morphology was juxtacortical.