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The role of global and regional gray matter volume decrease in multiple sclerosis

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Abstract

Disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients is associated with white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) pathology, and both processes contribute differently over the disease course. Total and regional GM volume loss can be imaged via voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Here, we retrospectively analyzed a group of 213 MS patients [163 relapsing remitting (RR) and 50 secondary progressive (SP)] using semi-automated white matter (WM) lesion mapping and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Our aim was to assess the association of increasing disability with decreasing total and regional GM volume. As expected, total GM volume and WM lesion load were associated with patients disability, measured with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). The more impaired the patients, the greater the statistical association to the total GM volume. Regional volume loss in the cerebellar gray matter was associated with increasing EDSS and WM lesion volume. Furthermore, SPMS patients had significantly more gray matter volume loss in the cerebellum and the hippocampus compared to RRMS patients. Our results confirm histopathological studies emphasizing the important role of the cerebellum and the hippocampus in MS patients’ disability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University Medicine of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    Matthias Grothe & Alexander Dressel

  2. Functional Imaging, Institute for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Medicine of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    Martin Lotze

  3. Institute for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Medicine of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    Sönke Langner

Authors
  1. Matthias Grothe
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  2. Martin Lotze
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  3. Sönke Langner
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  4. Alexander Dressel
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Correspondence to Matthias Grothe.

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Conflicts of interest

M. Grothe has received travel reimbursement from Novartis Pharma, Teva and BiogenIdec and research Grants from the Federal Ministry for Research and Education in Germany. M. Lotze has received research Grants from the German Research Foundation and the Federal Ministry for Research and Education in Germany. S. Langner received institutional support from the University of Greifswald for investigator initiated studies. A. Dressel has received research Grants, speaker and consulting honoraria as well as travel reimbursement from Novartis Pharma, Bayer Schering, Teva, Sanofi Aventis, Genzyme, Merck Serono and BiogenIdec.

Ethical standard statement

The study was approved by the Local Ethical Committees and written informed consent from each subject was obtained prior to their enrolment.

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Grothe, M., Lotze, M., Langner, S. et al. The role of global and regional gray matter volume decrease in multiple sclerosis. J Neurol 263, 1137–1145 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-016-8114-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-016-8114-3

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