Voxel-Wise Time-Series Analysis of Quantitative MRI in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

Ten newly diagnosed relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) patients will be studied early in their disease, when lesions are forming relatively frequently. Advanced, quantitative MRI scans will be obtained at monthly intervals for eight months. Scans obtained at various intervals will be digitally processed in order to generate a series of “interval change maps” that reveal where in the brain significant changes are occurring. These patterns will be analyzed using statistical methods that provide an estimate of how confident one can be in predicting whether or not a lesion will eventually develop in a particular location over a specified time interval. We will thus learn whether MS lesions can be detected earlier than currently possible using conventional approaches, and which of several advanced MRI techniques, either alone or in combination, are best suited to this task.