Potential of Sodium MRI As a Biomarker for Neurodegeneration and Neuroinflammation in Multiple Sclerosis

Overview

Journal Front Neurol

Specialty Neurology

Date 2019 Feb 27

PMID 30804885

Citations 23

Authors

Konstantin Huhn

Tobias Engelhorn

Ralf A Linker

Armin M Nagel

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In multiple sclerosis (MS), experimental and studies indicate that pathologic intra- and extracellular sodium accumulation may play a pivotal role in inflammatory as well as neurodegenerative processes. Yet, assessment of sodium in the microenvironment is hard to achieve. Here, sodium magnetic resonance imaging (NaMRI) with its non-invasive properties offers a unique opportunity to further elucidate the effects of sodium disequilibrium in MS pathology in addition to regular proton based MRI. However, unfavorable physical properties and low concentrations of sodium ions resulting in low signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) as well as low spatial resolution resulting in partial volume effects limited the application of NaMRI. With the recent advent of high-field MRI scanners and more sophisticated sodium MRI acquisition techniques enabling better resolution and higher SNR, NaMRI revived. These studies revealed pathologic total sodium concentrations in MS brains now even allowing for the (partial) differentiation of intra- and extracellular sodium accumulation. Within this review we (1) demonstrate the physical basis and imaging techniques of NaMRI and (2) analyze the present and future clinical application of NaMRI focusing on the field of MS thus highlighting its potential as biomarker for neuroinflammation and -degeneration.

Citing Articles

Interleaved Whole Brain Na-MRI and P-MRSI Acquisitions at 7 Tesla.

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Relationship between sodium and diffusion MRI metrics in multiple sclerosis.

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