| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
From the Neuroimaging Research Unit (Drs. Rocca, Mezzapesa, and Filippi, F. Agosta) and Departments of Neuroradiology (Drs. Falini and Scotti) and Neurology (Drs. Martinelli and Comi), Scientific Institute and University Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan; and Multiple Sclerosis Center (Dr. Ghezzi), Ospedale di Gallarate, Italy.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. M. Filippi, Neuroimaging Research Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute and University Ospedale San Raffaele, Via Olgettina, 60, 20132 Milan, Italy; e-mail: m.filippi{at}hsr.it
Objective: To assess, using fMRI, the brain pattern of movement-associated cortical activations in patients with a previous remitting episode of acute cervical myelitis of possible demyelinating origin and to investigate whether the extent of cortical reorganization is associated with the extent of cervical cord pathology measured using magnetization transfer (MT) MRI.
Methods: From 14 right-handed patients in a chronic and stable phase after an isolated myelitis (male/female = 7/7, mean age = 35.3 years, median disease duration = 21.2 months) involving the cervical cord and 15 sex- and age-matched healthy control subjects, we obtained 1) fMRI during repetitive flexion–extension of the last four fingers of the right hand, 2) brain diffusion tensor MRI, and 3) brain and cervical cord conventional and MT MRI. FMRI data were analyzed using Statistical Parametric Mapping software. Brain mean diffusivity, fractional anisotropy, and MT ratio (MTR) histograms of the normal-appearing white and gray matter and cervical cord MTR histograms were produced.
Results: Patients with myelitis had lower average cord MTR (p < 0.0001) and cord MTR histogram peak position (p = 0.002) than control subjects. Compared with healthy volunteers, patients with myelitis showed increased recruitment of the ipsilateral hemisphere in the primary sensorimotor cortex (p < 0.0001), supplementary motor area (p = 0.002), and middle frontal gyrus (MFG) (p < 0.0001). Average cervical cord MTR was inversely correlated with relative activations of the ipsilateral MFG (r = -0.80) and of the ipsilateral postcentral gyrus (r = -0.80). The relative activation of the ipsilateral MFG was also correlated with cervical cord MTR peak position (r = -0.92).
Conclusions: An abnormal pattern of movement-associated cortical activations was found in patients with a previous episode of cervical myelitis. These functional cortical changes might have an adaptive role in limiting the clinical outcome of structural cord damage.
Received December 19, 2002. Accepted in final form June 25, 2003.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. Marino, M. De Luca, M. T. Dotti, M. L. Stromillo, P. Formichi, P. Galluzzi, M. Mondelli, P. Bramanti, A. Federico, and N. De Stefano Prominent brain axonal damage and functional reorganization in "pure" adrenomyeloneuropathy Neurology, September 18, 2007; 69(12): 1261 - 1269. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. Gallo, M.A. Rocca, P. Tortorella, A. Ammendola, G. Tedeschi, and M. Filippi A Multiparametric Brain and Cord MR Imaging Study of a Patient with Hirayama Disease AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol., November 1, 2006; 27(10): 2115 - 2117. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. Morgen, N. Kadom, L. Sawaki, A. Tessitore, J. Ohayon, H. McFarland, J. Frank, R. Martin, and L. G. Cohen Training-dependent plasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis Brain, November 1, 2004; 127(11): 2506 - 2517. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M Filippi and M A Rocca Cortical reorganisation in patients with MS J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, August 1, 2004; 75(8): 1087 - 1089. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
