Intracranial and extracranial venous hemodynamic in multiple sclerosis
Date Issued
2011
Date
2011
Author(s)
Teng, Yu-Chuan
Abstract
Purpose
Multiple sclerosis was a disease combined with chronic inflammation, demyelination and neurodegeneration of the central venous system, and was heterogeneity in clinical course, imaging findings, and treatment response among patients. Diversity in the risk factors of multiple sclerosis was existed and the pathogenesis was still investigated. It was reported strong association between multiple sclerosis and chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency examined by Doppler by Zomboni in 2009 and angioplasty seemed to play a role in the functional improvement of these patients. However, some studies with opposite opinions were also published. The prior studies focused mainly on the abnormality of extracranial veins examined by ultrasound. We used contrast-enhanced and phase contrast MR venography to study the intra- and extracranial venous hemodynamics in multiple sclerosis, and found if anomalous cerebrospinal venous return occur more frequently in multiple sclerosis than normal control. The relationship of flow pattern of cerebrocervical veins on phase contrast MR and plaque burden was also investigated.
Method
The study was approved by National Taiwan University Hospital Research Ethics Committee and informed consent was obtained. There were 27 patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis according to the revised Mcdonald’s criteria enrolled and 26 patients were classified relapsing-remission type and one secondary progressive type. Neuromyelitis optica and clinical isolated syndrome were excluded. The health control group included 21 females and 9 males. Routine brain MR protocol, phase contrast and contrast-enhanced MRV involving the cerebrocervical region were performed. 2D Phase contrast MRV slices were positioned at coronal plane for bilateral transverse and superior sagittal sinuses, oblique coronal plane perpendicular to straight sinus for SS, and axial plane at C2-3 level for bilateral internal jugular veins. The plaque burden was calculated by summation of manually selected region of interest on a series of parallel axial planes separated by a fixed distance on fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery (FLAIR) imaging, and included the supratentorial region and brainstem.
Morphologic analysis was performed by the contrast-enhanced MRV of the cerebrocervical veins. Stenosis of IJV was defined absent or pinpoint flow on contrast-enhanced MRV. Flow direction, peak velocity, average velocity and average flow were recorded for the target dural sinuses and bilateral internal jugular veins on PC MRV. Mann-Whiney test was used for comparison of the difference of flow parameters between patients and control group. Pearson correlation test was used for the association between flow parameters, plaque burden, disease duration, first event age as well as age.
Result
The anomalous morphology of the patient group included absent or pinpoint flow in 7 patients. Stenosis at transverse sinus was noted in 3 patients, valve incompetence of IJV in 1, and fenestrated IJV in 1. Of the control group, anomalous morphology of IJV was found in 16 people, stenosis at transverse sinus in 1, and fenestrated IJV in 1. Reversed flow of IJV was found in 3 of the patient group and 3 of the control group.
The flow parameters between the patient and control groups were significantly different in peak velocity of SS (p=0.048), average velocity of SS (p=0.026) and peak velocity of left transverse sinus (p=0.035). The correlation analysis of intracranial venous flow quantification and disease characters in MS patients showed moderate correlation between first event age and average flow and velocity of SSS, first event age and peak and average velocity of SS, plaque volume with peak velocity of superior sagittal and left transverse sinuses and average flow of straight sinus. Patient age also had moderate reverse correlation with average velocity and average flow of SSS.
The relationship between flow parameters and age showed moderate correlation with average flow of SSS in the health control group.
Conclusion
The morphologic analysis of intra- and extracranial veins revealed a substantial abnormal morphology and reversed flow of IJV in both the patient and control groups. Significant lower velocity of SS and left transverse sinus in the patient group as compared with the health controls hinted that decreased velocity of intracranial venous drainage may play a role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis. The disease condition of multiple sclerosis, like plaque volume, first event age and patients’ age had moderate reverse correction with the hemodynamics of intracranial venous drainage.
Subjects
multiple sclerosis
chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency
intracranial vein
dural sinus
internal jugular vein
Type
thesis
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