MRI

A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool called MindGlide can accurately calculate, from a single MRI scan, multiple aspects of brain damage related to multiple sclerosis (MS) — even when employed with routine scans that are not typically used to monitor such damage. The development and validation of the tool…

Evidence of neurological damage over time — known as dissemination in time, or DIT — may not be necessary to reach a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) for all patients, according to a report by U.K. researchers. Traditionally, an MS diagnosis would typically require both DIT and DIS,…

Proposed revisions to the McDonald criteria, a set of diagnostic guidelines for multiple sclerosis (MS), may help diagnose people who could have been missed under earlier versions, according to a recent analysis. That includes people with radiological-only onset, when there are signs of disease on MRI scans but…

A Phase 2 clinical trial is currently recruiting adults with relapsing types of multiple sclerosis (MS) to investigate Zenas Biopharma’s experimental therapy obexelimab as a weekly subcutaneous, or under-the-skin, injection, the company has announced in a press release. The study, called MoonStone (NCT06564311), is open to…

Enigma Biomedical has entered into an agreement with Neuraly to use its PET imaging tracer PMI04 to visualize microglia activity in people with neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Microglia are resident immune cells in the brain that are believed to play a role in driving…

Gadoquatrane, a contrast agent Bayer is developing for use in MRI scans, is able to detect regions of damage and other disease-related features while using 60% less gadolinium — a chemical element used to enhance an MRI — compared with existing gadolinium-based contrast agents. That’s according to new data…

A specific type of brain lesion called a paramagnetic rim lesion, or PRL, is associated with worse disability over time in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but available disease-modifying therapies (DMT) can lower the chances of the appearance of these lesions, according to two studies published by scientists…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared an extended version of Neurophet Aqua, an MRI analysis software that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to measure disease-related changes in brain scans. Earlier clearance enabled Neurophet‘s software to analyze brain atrophy using T1-weighed MRI scans in people with neurodegenerative conditions.

Higher blood levels of bile acids — molecules found in the digestive fluid bile, which helps absorb fat in the gut — are associated with a slower progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), as indicated by imaging scans, a study by U.S. researchers reported. In a small clinical trial in…

A revised version of the McDonald criteria, a set of guidelines used to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS), is expected to include additional features that will help doctors make an accurate diagnosis at an earlier stage of the disease, even if patients have yet to manifest clinical symptoms. The…

Two weeks ago, I was notified that one of the lesions on my brain has grown. This led me and my care team to decide it was time to switch multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments. Soon after I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in 2017,…

About a year after I was born, my parents decided to get my ears pierced. Little did they know, it would become an obsession of mine years later. But little did I know, my piercings would pose problems when it was MRI time. When I was 13, I continued…

My last magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan was on May 1, just ahead of an appointment with my multiple sclerosis (MS) healthcare provider six days later. The MRI showed that my MS was stable, meaning I had no new or active lesions. I was pleasantly surprised by these…

Levels of the immune cell protein CHIT1 at diagnosis, taken from the spinal fluid via a spinal tap, may strongly predict how fast disability progression will occur in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study suggests. Compared with standard clinical measures used to predict disease progression — such…

A three month cognitive rehabilitation program, with or without aerobic exercise, increased tissue volume and activity in brain regions linked to cognition among people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), clinical trial data suggests. The MRI findings offer potential biological explanations about why cognitive rehabilitation leads to cognitive…

England’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has updated its guidance on the use of Mavenclad (cladribine) in people with aggressive relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in ways that should help eligible patients be able to access the medication sooner. The new guidelines have less stringent…

Microscopic connections between brain cells vary based on biological sex, according to a new study that used machine learning to analyze MRI data from hundreds of healthy volunteers. Researchers said the findings may help explain why neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently vary according to sex. “Our…

I have several big milestone events coming up, all within a week. My son is graduating from college and my daughter from high school. Additionally, we have my son’s nurse pinning ceremony, a graduation lunch, two graduation parties, Mother’s Day, and lots of family and friends in town for these…

A specialized imaging approach was able to detect signs of persistent inflammation in the brains of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) that aren’t readily captured by standard MRI scans. This so-called smoldering inflammation was also observed among those patients taking high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), where a higher degree…

A new machine learning model is able to predict the risk of converting from clinically isolated syndrome, or a first event of multiple sclerosis (MS)-like symptoms, to clinically definite disease, a study found. “Our study developed a machine-learning model that not only provides a numerical estimate of the…

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to diagnose and monitor the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). We patients can expect to have regular MRIs, although the frequency will depend on our age and disease stability. It’s important that we be comfortable during the procedure, as it…

Measurements from smartphones and wearable devices like smartwatches can reliably provide clinically meaningful data to monitor multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study from Switzerland reports. While daily data from such devices did not prove sufficiently reliable in this small study, information generated weekly — across more than 45 different…

Health Canada has approved the commercial use of ETNA-MS, a software-based medical device that uses eye tracking to noninvasively measure disease severity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Short for Eye-Tracking Neurological Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis, ETNA-MS assesses disease severity based on a person’s eye movements. It’s intended for…

In multiple sclerosis (MS), lesions — areas of abnormal tissue in the nervous system — start as a core of a few inflammatory immune cells, with inflammatory damage then spreading outward from these cells to form a lesion. That’s according to a new study from Sweden, in which researchers…

Lumina Imaging has partnered with the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) to provide affordable brain and spinal cord MRI scans to multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The partnership makes Lumina the preferred provider for the MSAA’s MRI Access Program in northeast Ohio. The program is designed…

Alex Ramirez stands outside of his home. (Photos courtesy of Alex Ramirez) Day 13 of 31 This is Alex Ramirez’s story: In January 2018, I started to feel terrible in a way I can’t put into words. I went to the hospital, and after multiple MRIs, I was prescribed…

A model based on genetic factors could help predict the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in people with optic neuritis, an eye disorder that can be an early sign of MS, according to new research. “As a doctor caring for many patients with optic neuritis, I’m excited by…

The presence of paramagnetic rim lesions (PRLs), which represent areas of damage in the brain and spinal cord with chronic active inflammation, may help identify people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are more likely to have cognitive decline over time. That’s according to four-year data presented by Hannah Schwartz,…

An imaging feature called the T1-dark rim, which is visible on standard MRI scans of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), could help to identify paramagnetic rim lesions (PRLs), a study suggests. PRLs are regions of chronic active inflammation that cause ongoing nerve damage. They’re associated with disease activity and…

Children with multiple sclerosis (MS) who start on high-efficacy therapies experience fewer relapses and reduced MRI disease activity in the following years, compared with those who are treated first with moderate-efficacy therapies, according to a new study. Rates of severe side effects are similar for both groups, but the…