Ernst-wilhelm Radue, MD

MR imaging has provided important insights into the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis.1 Conventional MR scans afford only gross estimates of the extent and nature of tissue damage associated with MS,2 however, and the data correlate poorly with measures of concurrent disability in patients. Advances in MRI technology have improved the correlation of its findings with clinical status and increased the utility of MRI data as surrogate markers in monitoring disease progression and response to therapy.3 Newer techniques, such as magnetization transfer (MT), diffusion-weighted, and functional MRI, as well as proton MR spectroscopy and measures of brain and spinal cord atrophy, may help further elucidate MS pathology2 and provide opportunities for new treatment approaches.4