Abstract #0956
Connected WM lesions are associated with reduced cortical thickness in long-standing multiple sclerosis
Martijn D. Steenwijk 1 , Marita Daams 1,2 , Lisanne J. Balk 3 , Prejaas K. Tewarie 3 , Jeroen J.G. Geurts 2 , Frederik Barkhof 1 , Hugo Vrenken 1,4 , and Petra Pouwels 4
1
Department of Radiology and Nuclear
Medicine, VU University medical center, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland,
Netherlands,
2
Department
of Anatomy and Neurosciences, VU University medical
center, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands,
3
Department
of Neurology, VU University medical center, Amsterdam,
Noord-Holland, Netherlands,
4
Department
of Physics and Medical Technology, VU University medical
center, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Gray matter (GM) atrophy is common in multiple sclerosis
(MS), but the spatial relation with white matter (WM)
pathology is largely unknown. Studies investigating this
topic are often limited to early patients or specific
tracts. We present a new method using an advanced
tractography-based approach to obtain lesion
connectivity maps at the cortical surface. Group-level
vertex-wise statistics in a large cohort (n=208) of
long-standing MS patients revealed large areas with
negative associations between lesion connectivity and
cortical thickness, indicating that cortical atrophy in
MS can at least partly be explained by axonal damage
or disconnection due to WM lesions.
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