Grey-matter sodium concentration as an individual marker of multiple sclerosis severity

Adil Maarouf (1, 2, 3) , Bertrand Audoin (1, 2, 3) , Soraya Gherib (2, 3) , Mohamed Mounir El Mendili (2, 3) , Patrick Viout (2, 3) , Fanelly Pariollaud (1, 2, 3) , Clemence Boutiere (1) , Audrey Rico (1, 2, 3) , Maxime Guye (2, 3) , Jean-Philippe Ranjeva (2, 3) , Wafaa Zaaraoui (2, 3) , Jean Pelletier (1, 2, 3)

1 Neurologie, maladies neuro-musculaires [Hôpital de la Timone - APHM]
2 CEMEREM - Centre d'Exploration Métabolique par Résonance Magnétique [Hôpital de la Timone - APHM]
3 CRMBM - Centre de résonance magnétique biologique et médicale

Objective: Quantification of brain injury in patients with variable disability despite similar disease duration may be relevant to identify the mechanisms underlying disability in MS. We aimed to compare grey-matter sodium abnormalities (GMSA), a parameter reflecting neuronal and astrocyte dysfunction, in MS patients with benign MS (BMS) and non-benign MS (NBMS). Methods: We identified never-treated BMS patients in our local MS database of 1352 patients. A group with NBMS was identified with same disease duration. All participants underwent 23 Na MRI. The existence of GMSA was detected by statistical analysis. Results: In total, 102 individuals were included (21 BMS, 25 NBMS and 56 controls). GMSA was detected in 10 BMS and 19 NBMS (11/16 RRMS and 8/9 SPMS) patients (p=0.05). On logistic regression including the presence or absence of GMSA, thalamic volume, cortical grey matter volume and T2-weighted lesion load, thalamic volume was independently associated with BMS status (OR=0.64 for each unit). Nonetheless, the absence of GMSA was independently associated when excluding patients with significant cognitive alteration (n=7) from the BMS group (OR=4.6). Conclusion: Detection of GMSA in individuals and thalamic volume are promising to differentiate BMS from NBMS as compared with cortical or whole grey-matter atrophy and T2-weighted lesions.

Mots clés: multiple sclerosis; sodium MRI; benign; neuronal degeneration; disability

Domaines: Neurosciences [q-bio.NC]

Adil Maarouf, Bertrand Audoin, Soraya Gherib, Mohamed Mounir El Mendili, Patrick Viout, et al.. Grey-matter sodium concentration as an individual marker of multiple sclerosis severity. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 2022, pp.135245852211025. ⟨10.1177/13524585221102587⟩. ⟨hal-03703250⟩