Similar Cortical Lesion Distribution & Cortical Atrophy Location in Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis.

Marco Battaglini¹, Massimiliano Calabrese², Maria Laura Stromillo¹, Alice Favaretto², Antonio Giorgio¹, Francesca Rinaldi², Paolo Gallo², Nicola De Stefano¹

This study investigated the spatial relationship between the occurrence of cortical lesions (CLs) and the local density decrease of Grey Matter in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). 103 Relapsing Remitting -MS patients, subdivided into patients with (CL-p) or without (CL-a) cortical lesions, were compared with 30 healthy subjects (HS) age-gender matched by performing a Voxel-Based Morphometry ANOVA analysis. A CL probability map for the CL-p group was generated. GM content was significantly different between CL-p and the other 2 groups in regions with higher CLs frequency, suggesting of a crucial role of CLs in development of GM atrophy.