February 1, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Hi-res MRI Scanners May Bring MS’s Effect on the Cerebellum Into View Researchers were able to image the cerebellum ā a small, compact region of the brain that plays key roles in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other diseases ā with greater clarity than ever before. Their imaging approach, which used MRI scanners equipped with powerful magnets, may help learn how…
January 4, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Being a Lifelong Musician May Protect Brain From Damage of Aging Being a lifelong musician can help protect certain tracts of the brain’s white matter from damage during aging, potentially warding off conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, or dementia for years. That’s according to the study “Effects of Lifelong Musicianship on White Matter Integrity…
August 27, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD Central Vein Sign Maintains Potential as MS Diagnostic Marker, European Study Shows Detecting changes to the brain’s central vein using common magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans is a useful and accurate strategy to enhanceĀ diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study shows. Analysis of more than 4,000 brain lesions, obtained from contrast-enhanced MRI scans collected from eight neuroimaging European…
October 30, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #MSParis2017 – Aerobic Exercise Seen to Quickly Strengthen Brain Connections in Patients Aerobic exercise strengthens brain connections in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, Jan-Patrick Stellmann, with University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany, reported at theĀ 7th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting in Paris that ran from Oct. 25ā28. According to Stellmann, "aerobic exercises are considered to improve mobility, fatigue, depression and cognition in MS," and also to "promote neuroprotective or neuroregenerative mechanisms." For the study, the team used MRI to examine how exercise affected different types of brain connections. They recruited 57 RRMS patients and 30 healthy controls to the study. Women made up more than two-thirds of the patient group, which had a mean age of 39. Patients only had mild disability, with a mean score of 1.5 on the Expanded Disability Status Scale. Researchers randomly assigned about half the group to a supervised and individually adapted aerobic exercise program, consisting of 22 sessions of up to one hour each. Others were assigned to a waiting list ā with the intent of taking up exercise after three months ā and served as a control group. MRI scans at the study's beginning revealed that patients had more so-called functional connections, but fewer structural ones, than healthy controls. It is known from earlier studies that most RRMS patients show abnormalities in functional connections, but some researchers find increases while others decreases in these connections. Functional and structural connections appear on different types of MRI scans ā ones that make use either of blood flow changes or of the properties of water molecules in the white matter of the brain. The deviations were particularly pronounced in highly connected hub regions, the researchers said. After three months, functional connections increased across the entire brain among exercising patients, but decreased in those on the waiting list. Structural connections also increased among patients who exercised, while no change was detected among control patients. Researchers also noted that exercising patients grew more local connections, mostly in hub regions, compared to those who did not exercise. While it is generally accepted that aerobic exercise promotes neuroprotective and regenerative processes within the brain, the study demonstrated that exercise, in only three months, did indeed affect how the brain is wired. "Short-term aerobic exercise increases functional and structural connectivity,"Ā Stellmann concluded. "Already after three months, exercise lead to functional and structural reorganization of brain networks." The researcher highlighted the difficulties in obtaining financial support for trials on exercise. And he emphasized that patients should be encouraged by their doctors to exercise regularly.
June 6, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Brain Damage Linked to MS Affects Ability to Interpret Others’ Emotions and Intentions, Study Reports How multiple sclerosis affects the “social brain,” whichĀ governs the ability to understand how others think and feel ā a skill called social cognition ā is linked to specific types of brain damage that occur in MS: both lesions and microscopic changes taking place in the brain’s white matter, aĀ research team…
November 15, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD New Way of Scanning Brain Captures Onset of Inflammation in MS Mice and Patients Advances in brain imaging are makingĀ it possible to visualize early and ongoing events in multiple sclerosis (MS) ā beginning with the first signs of inflammation caused by immune cells entering the brain. ShouldĀ the new technique become available to physicians, it likely will not only allow for more precise diagnoses, but…
May 3, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Society Awards UT Researcher $490K to Study Link Between Blood Flow and Cognition The National Multiple Sclerosis SocietyĀ has awarded Dr. Bart Rypma, an associate professor at the Center for BrainHealth at theĀ University of Texas at Dallas, aĀ more than $490,000 grant to studyĀ how changes in blood flow in the brain mightĀ affectĀ cognition in people withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). The grant buildsĀ on previous research…
January 7, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Entropy in MS Patients’ Brains Seen to Mirror Level of Disability A recentĀ study published in the journal PLOS ONEĀ described a new technique with the potential to spot brain changes in multiple sclerosis (MS) before the onset of symptoms. The technique, which measures brain dynamic activity and brain entropy, mayĀ lead to theĀ development of diagnostic ā and possibly prognostic ā…
June 16, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Researcher Recommends Brain Imaging To Treat MS-Related Depression Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can predict responses to depression treatment in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to Anthony Feinstein, Professor at the Department of Psychiatry of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre & the University of Toronto. In the presentation āDepression in MS: Is brain imaging helpful?ā at this…