Brain MRI Volumetric Assessment of Patients With Multiple Sclerosis: The Volume of Basal Ganglia, Thalamus, and Posterior Fossa

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating and neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system, which is associated with brain atrophy and volume changes in some brain structures. This study aimed to compare the volume of the basal ganglia, thalamus, cerebellum, and brainstem in patients with relapsing-remitting MS with that of the control group using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

In this cross-sectional study, MRI brain scans were obtained from 25 patients with relapsing-remitting MS and 25 healthy control subjects. Volumetric analyses were performed using Brain Suite software.

The mean age of the MS and the control groups was 33.96±8.75 and 40.40±8.72, respectively. No statistically significant difference was found in gender (P=0.747). The bilateral putamen and caudate nuclei volumes were significantly higher in the case group than in the control group (P<0.001). Moreover, lower the volume of the brainstem, cerebellum, bilateral thalamus, and globus pallidus were identified in the MS patients compared to the control group (P<0.001). There was an inverse correlation between the disease and treatment duration with the thalamus and cerebellum volume in MS patients (P=0.001). Treatment duration also had an inverse correlation with brainstem volume (P=0.047).

The volume of some structures of the brain, including globus pallidus, thalamus, cerebellum, and brainstem is lower in MS and can be one of the markers of disease progression and disability among MS patients.