NeuroImage: Clinical (Jan 2022)
Selective atrophy of the cervical enlargement in whole spinal cord MRI of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Robert L. Barry,
- Angel Torrado-Carvajal,
- John E. Kirsch,
- Grae E. Arabasz,
- Daniel S. Albrecht,
- Zeynab Alshelh,
- Olivia Pijanowski,
- Austin J. Lewis,
- Mackenzie Keegan,
- Beverly Reynolds,
- Paulina C. Knight,
- Erin J. Morrissey,
- Marco L. Loggia,
- Nazem Atassi,
- Jacob M. Hooker,
- Suma Babu
Affiliations
- Robert L. Barry
- Athinoula A.Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard–Massachusetts Institute of Technology Health Sciences & Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA; Corresponding authors.
- Angel Torrado-Carvajal
- Athinoula A.Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA; Medical Image Analysis and Biometry Laboratory, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
- John E. Kirsch
- Athinoula A.Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Grae E. Arabasz
- Athinoula A.Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Daniel S. Albrecht
- Athinoula A.Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Zeynab Alshelh
- Athinoula A.Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Olivia Pijanowski
- Sean M.Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Neurology, Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Austin J. Lewis
- Sean M.Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Neurology, Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Mackenzie Keegan
- Sean M.Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Neurology, Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Beverly Reynolds
- Sean M.Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Neurology, Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Paulina C. Knight
- Sean M.Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Neurology, Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Erin J. Morrissey
- Athinoula A.Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Marco L. Loggia
- Athinoula A.Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Nazem Atassi
- Sean M.Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Neurology, Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Sanofi Genzyme, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Jacob M. Hooker
- Athinoula A.Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Suma Babu
- Sean M.Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Neurology, Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Corresponding authors.
- Journal volume & issue
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Vol. 36
p. 103199
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a deadly neurodegenerative disorder affecting motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain. Studies have reported on atrophy within segments of the cervical cord, but we are not aware of previous investigations of the whole spinal cord. Herein we present our findings from a 3T MRI study involving 32 subjects (15 ALS participants and 17 healthy controls) characterizing cross-sectional area along the entire cord. We report atrophy of the cervical enlargement in ALS participants, but no evidence of atrophy of the thoracolumbar enlargement. These results suggest that MR-based analyses of the cervical cord may be sufficient for in vivo investigations of spinal cord atrophy in ALS, and that atrophy of the cervical enlargement (C4–C7) is a potential imaging marker for quantifying lower motor neuron degradation.
