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Abstract #1968

Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Voxel-Based Relaxometry Study in ALS

Don Charles Bigler1, Claire Flaherty-Craig2, Yaman Aksu3, Byeong-Yeul Lee4, Kevin R. Scott2, Helen E. Stephens2, Jeffrey J. Vesek5, Jianli Wang5, Michele L. Shaffer6, Paul J. Eslinger2,5, Zachary Simmons2, Qing X. Yang5,7

1Psychiatry, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, United States; 2Neurology, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, United States; 3Electrical Engineering, Penn State University, State College, PA, United States; 4Bioengineering, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, United States; 5Radiology, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, United States; 6Public Health Sciences, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, United States; 7Neurosurgery, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, United States


The objectives of this study were to identify regions of T2 change in ALS cross-sectionally using VBR and determine the relationship of T2 with time, disease duration, and disease severity longitudinally. T1-weighted and multi spin-echo images were acquired from 12 control and 12 ALS at baseline, 7 at 6 months, and 6 at 12 months. After post-processing clusters of significant T2 increase cross-sectionally were found in frontal and temporal areas. Longitudinally, increased T2 was associated with disease duration mainly in frontal areas. Increased T2 in ALS is likely due to atrophy in cortical areas and acute inflammation in subcortical regions.