eprintid: 10065984 rev_number: 18 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/10/06/59/84 datestamp: 2019-01-17 14:48:37 lastmod: 2021-09-25 23:00:00 status_changed: 2019-01-17 14:48:37 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Elliott, C creators_name: Wolinsky, JS creators_name: Hauser, SL creators_name: Kappos, L creators_name: Barkhof, F creators_name: Bernasconi, C creators_name: Wei, W creators_name: Belachew, S creators_name: Arnold, DL title: Slowly expanding/evolving lesions as a magnetic resonance imaging marker of chronic active multiple sclerosis lesions ispublished: inpress divisions: UCL divisions: B02 divisions: C07 divisions: D07 divisions: F82 keywords: Chronic active lesions, progressive multiple sclerosis, relapsing multiple sclerosis, slowly expanding/evolving lesions, smoldering plaques note: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.en abstract: BACKGROUND:: Chronic lesion activity driven by smoldering inflammation is a pathological hallmark of progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). OBJECTIVE:: To develop a method for automatic detection of slowly expanding/evolving lesions (SELs) on conventional brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and characterize such SELs in primary progressive MS (PPMS) and relapsing MS (RMS) populations. METHODS:: We defined SELs as contiguous regions of existing T2 lesions showing local expansion assessed by the Jacobian determinant of the deformation between reference and follow-up scans. SEL candidates were assigned a heuristic score based on concentricity and constancy of change in T2- and T1-weighted MRIs. SELs were examined in 1334 RMS patients and 555 PPMS patients. RESULTS:: Compared with RMS patients, PPMS patients had higher numbers of SELs ( p = 0.002) and higher T2 volumes of SELs ( p < 0.001). SELs were devoid of gadolinium enhancement. Compared with areas of T2 lesions not classified as SEL, SELs had significantly lower T1 intensity at baseline and larger decrease in T1 intensity over time. CONCLUSION:: We suggest that SELs reflect chronic tissue loss in the absence of ongoing acute inflammation. SELs may represent a conventional brain MRI correlate of chronic active MS lesions and a candidate biomarker for smoldering inflammation in MS. date: 2018-12-19 date_type: published official_url: https://doi.org/10.1177/1352458518814117 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green article_type_text: Journal Article verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1616628 doi: 10.1177/1352458518814117 lyricists_name: Barkhof, Frederik lyricists_id: FBARK32 actors_name: Flynn, Bernadette actors_id: BFFLY94 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Multiple Sclerosis Journal event_location: England issn: 1477-0970 citation: Elliott, C; Wolinsky, JS; Hauser, SL; Kappos, L; Barkhof, F; Bernasconi, C; Wei, W; ... Arnold, DL; + view all <#> Elliott, C; Wolinsky, JS; Hauser, SL; Kappos, L; Barkhof, F; Bernasconi, C; Wei, W; Belachew, S; Arnold, DL; - view fewer <#> (2018) Slowly expanding/evolving lesions as a magnetic resonance imaging marker of chronic active multiple sclerosis lesions. Multiple Sclerosis Journal 10.1177/1352458518814117 <https://doi.org/10.1177/1352458518814117>. (In press). Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10065984/1/1352458518814117.pdf