Janne West1, 2, Anne Aalto, 23, J. B. M. Warntjes, 24, Olof Dahlqvist Leinhard1, 2, Anne-Marie Landtblom, 25, rjan Smedby, 26, Peter Lundberg1, 2
1Department of Radiation Physics, Linkping University, Linkping, Sweden; 2Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization, Linkping, Sweden; 3Division of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Linkping University, Vstervik, Sweden; 4Department of Clinical Physiology, Linkping University, Linkping, Sweden; 5Department of Neurology, Linkping University, Linkping, Sweden; 6Department of Radiology, Linkping University, Linkping, Sweden
Subtle regions of diffuse signal intensity are often seen in T2-weighted images of MS patients. These regions, not attributable to normal appearing white matter (NAWM) or WM-lesions are called dirty-appearing white matter (DAWM). Recent studies have proposed that these regions may be an important marker for disease progression. In this study it was investigated if quantitative MR could be used to identify DAWM in a group of 10 MS patients. DAWM was compared to NAWM, WM-lesions and healthy white matter in a control group. This study indicates that DAWM may be a different pathological process detectable by quantitative MRI.