Individual assessment of chronic brain tissue changes in MRI – the role of focal lesions for brain atrophy development. A Voxel-Guided Morphometry study

Despite considerable progress in the treatment of MS, it is still the most frequent cause of neurological disability in young and middle-aged adults. The known neuropathological mechanisms leading to progressive disability are immune-mediated demyelination and axonal loss. Several MRI studies demonstrated brain volume reduction, consisting of white and grey matter loss as an in vivo marker of MS. As this brain atrophy is positively correlated with disability, atrophy measures have been adopted as secondary outcomes in a number of trials of disease-modifying drugs. As neurodegeneration is irreversible, brain atro…