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7T MRI: A Powerful Vision of Microvascular Abnormalities in Multiple Sclerosis

Y. Ge1, V. Zohrabian1, and R. I. Grossman1
1 Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York City, NY, United States

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions have been linked to venous abnormality, although the derivation of these lesions from the vasculature has been difficult to assess in vivo (1,2). Ultra-high-field (e.g. 7T) MR has provided increased visibility of venous vasculature by taking advantage of markedly increased intrinsic intensity and susceptibility contrast (3). We report findings acquired at 7T MR in two MS patients, and demonstrate enhanced detection of unique microvascular abnormalities in MS.
Our findings established that approximately half of total MS lesions in our two patients are small with well-defined central veins, and that these diffuse, subtle signal abnormalities may correspond to early vascular changes. This represents the first time that such subtle vascular inflammatory abnormalities have been demonstrated in vivo. Improved detection of these lesions in the early stage of development on 7T MRI will
have substantial ramifications on future diagnosis, monitoring, and therapeutic response in MS.

Might mean more to you now you know you got it...
http://health.elsevier.com/ajws_archive ... 3A4703.pdf

In several studies, IJVVI was found in 20–40% of normal individuals, depending on the imaging method and the study population [44,53,55]. In a study with a large sample of healthy individuals (n = 121), IJVVI was found more frequently in older subjects and in men [55].

ok, I found the answer to my own question

The above reference study used the "Valsalva maneuver" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva_maneuver) while Zamboni explicitly avoided this technique, and "assessed during a short period of apnea following a normal exhalation". This was how it was measured on me.

Another doctor researching the correlation of venous outflow and MS-
Website of Dr. Marian Simka
Department of Angiology, Wodzislawska 78, 43-200 Pszczyna, Poland
http://strona.simka.nazwa.pl/multiple-sclerosis.html

Is (intracranial reflux) indeed the trigger of multiple sclerosis plaques, and not an innocent bystander?

By the way what bed changes - if any - should be done in case of spinal cord lessions, incline bed or what?

Andrew Fletcher, the creator of IBT, would say it's the same for all MS lesions, the head of the bed should be raised about 5 inches, to improve the entire circulatory system. It's easy to try. We have old hardcover books under the front posts of our bed. We haven't seen a huge change, but it's been a very stressful time for Jeff.
AC