Effect of Dimethyl Fumarate vs Copaxone on Inflammation in Chronic Active Multiple Sclerosis Lesions
February 28, 2022
Old MS lesions can be divided into chronic inactive and chronic active lesions. Chronic inactive lesions do not change over time. Chronic active lesions, however, continue to cause damage to nerve fibers. Chronic active lesions are characterized by the presence of activated microglia cells which are immune cells found in the brain. Researchers including me, at Dr Susan Gauthier's imaging lab at Weill Cornell used an MRI technique called QSM (quantitative susceptibility mapping) developed by Dr...
Association between EBV infection and Multiple Sclerosis
February 18, 2022
Increased focus has been put on the connection between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and MS in the past, and an interesting study has been published in January 2022 in the journal Science.EBV is the primary cause of mononucleosis, and can be found in 95% of all adults, while approximately 99.5% of MS patients carry the virus.Scientists at Harvard used blood samples that were collected over 2 decades from more than 10 million young adults working in the U.S. military.In this monitored group, the risk...
Association of Myelin Content in Lesions and Cognition in MS
February 11, 2022
Cognitive impairment is highly prevalent in patients with multiple sclerosis and mechanisms of cognitive decline remain poorly understood.Our group conducted a study of patients with MS to study myelin content in brain lesions and cognition in MS.One hundred and sixty-four MS patients underwent MRIs using a specialized sequence that measures myelin content in lesions. These patients also had cognitive assessment using a test called SDMT, which is a good test of information processing speed...
