Imaging intralesional heterogeneity of sodium concentration in multiple sclerosis: Initial evidence from 23 Na-MRI
Grist JT., Riemer F., McLean MA., Matys T., Zaccagna F., Hilborne SF., Mason JP., Patterson I., Slough R., Kaggie J., Deen SS., Graves MJ., Jones JL., Coles AJ., Gallagher FA.
Sodium MRI ( 23 Na-MRI) has been used to non-invasively quantify tissue sodium but has been limited by low spatial resolution. Here we demonstrate for the first time that high resolution 23 Na-MRI reveals the spatial heterogeneity of sodium concentration within a multiple sclerosis (MS) lesion. A patient with treatment-naïve relapsing-remitting MS and a ring-enhancing lesion was imaged using 23 Na-MRI. The periphery of the lesion demonstrated an elevated total sodium content compared to the normal appearing white and grey matter (p < 0.01), as well as a heterogeneous distribution of both the total tissue sodium concentration and the intracellular-weighted sodium concentration.