A specific pattern of cerebellar lesions involving the middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP), rather than the total cerebellar white matter lesion (CWML) load, contributes to cognitive dysfunction in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a recent study found. Cerebellar lesion profiles, therefore, may provide a biomarker of current or evolving risk for cognitive status change in RRMS. High-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was acquired on 16 cognitively impaired (CI) and 15 cognitively preserved (CP) RRMS subjects at 3T and used for lesion identification and voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM). Researchers found:
CI RRMS demonstrated a predilection for the MCP.
VLSM results indicate that lesions of the MCP are significantly associated with CI in RRMS.
Measures of cerebellar lesion load were correlated with age at disease onset but not disease duration.
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