The central vein sign in the differential diagnosis of multiple sclerosis

Abstract

The current diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) is based on confirmation of the disseminated pathological process in space and time in accordance with the McDonald criteria. Despite this, the search continues for specific markers of the disease, including those detected using neuroimaging techniques that have high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of MS.The paper considers the central vein sign, a new promising diagnostic one of MS. This sign refers to a parenchymal vein visualized in the focus of demyelination, by using special magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modes. Studies show that the central vein sign has high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of MS, allowing it to be differentiated from other demyelinating, vascular, and systemic diseases that have an MRI pattern similar to that of MS. According to various authors, a threshold of 40–50% perivenular lesions allows MS and MS-like diseases to be differentiated with high accuracy.

Keywords

• multiple sclerosis
• central vein si