NEUROLOGY 2007;68:634-642
© 2007 American Academy of Neurology
Views & Reviews
Gray matter involvement in multiple sclerosis
Istvan Pirko, MD,
Claudia F. Lucchinetti, MD,
Subramaniam Sriram, MD and
Rohit Bakshi, MD
From the Department of Neurology (I.P.), University of Cincinnati, OH; Department of Neurology (C.F.L.), Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN; Department of Neurology (S.S.), Vanderbilt Medical Center, Nashville, TN; and Departments of Neurology and Radiology (R.B.), Partners MS Center, Center for Neurological Imaging, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. R. Bakshi, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 77 Ave. Louis Pasteur, HIM 730, Boston, MA 02115; e-mail: rbakshi{at}bwh.harvard.edu
Gray matter (GM) involvement is detected even in the earliest stages of multiple sclerosis (MS), and GM atrophy occurs at a faster rate than white matter (WM) atrophy early in the disease course. Studies published to date establish that 1) GM involvement and in particular cortical demyelination can be extensive in MS; 2) GM pathology may occur in part independently of WM lesion formation; 3) a primarily GM-related process may be the earliest manifestation of MS; 4) GM involvement is associated with physical disability, fatigue, and cognitive impairment in MS; and 5) GM disease might help explain the observed dissociation between markers of inflammatory demyelination (relapses, WM gadolinium enhancement, WM lesion burden) and disease progression. It remains likely that GM damage is related to WM damage. However, continued studies of GM pathology as well as neuronal and axonal involvement in MS and related experimental models are necessary to better understand the etiology and pathogenesis of the degenerative components.
Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.
Received January 13, 2006. Accepted in final form September 16, 2006.
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