Post-mortem studies from late-stage multiple sclerosis (MS) suggest that cortical lesions, which are hardly detected in vivo on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, are an important correlate of disability and are driven by organized neuroinflammation. We propose to extend our previous work at ultra-high field MRI, which has demonstrated greater sensitivity to cortical pathology than conventional MRI, to include assessment in vivo of cortical inflammation in patients with MS. We will assess whether more severe cortical pathology, as measured by advanced imaging protocols at ultra-high field MRI, is related to the presence of neuroinflammation evaluated in vivo using positron emission tomography. The ability to demonstrate an association between cortical pathology and neuroinflammation in vivo could help to predict aggressive forms of MS that can be susceptible to earlier and more specific therapies. |
