Selective atrophy of the cervical enlargement in whole spinal cord MRI of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Robert L Barry; Angel Torrado-Carvajal; John E Kirsch; Grae E Arabasz; Daniel S Albrecht; Zeynab Alshelh; Olivia Pijanowski; Austin J Lewis; Mackenzie Keegan; Beverly Reynolds; Paulina C Knight; Erin J Morrissey; Marco L Loggia; Nazem Atassi; Jacob M Hooker; Suma Babu

doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103199

Selective atrophy of the cervical enlargement in whole spinal cord MRI of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Neuroimage Clin. 2022:36:103199. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103199. Epub 2022 Sep 16.

Authors

Robert L Barry¹, Angel Torrado-Carvajal², John E Kirsch³, Grae E Arabasz⁴, Daniel S Albrecht⁴, Zeynab Alshelh⁴, Olivia Pijanowski⁵, Austin J Lewis⁵, Mackenzie Keegan⁵, Beverly Reynolds⁵, Paulina C Knight⁵, Erin J Morrissey⁴, Marco L Loggia⁶, Nazem Atassi⁷, Jacob M Hooker³, Suma Babu⁸

Affiliations

¹ Athinoula A.Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Health Sciences & Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. Electronic address: Robert.Barry@mgh.Harvard.edu.
² Athinoula A.Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA; Medical Image Analysis and Biometry Laboratory, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
³ Athinoula A.Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁴ Athinoula A.Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
⁵ Sean M.Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Neurology, Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
⁶ Athinoula A.Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
⁷ Sean M.Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Neurology, Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Sanofi Genzyme, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁸ Sean M.Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Neurology, Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: sbabu@mgh.Harvard.edu.

Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a deadly neurodegenerative disorder affecting motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain. Studies have reported on atrophy within segments of the cervical cord, but we are not aware of previous investigations of the whole spinal cord. Herein we present our findings from a 3T MRI study involving 32 subjects (15 ALS participants and 17 healthy controls) characterizing cross-sectional area along the entire cord. We report atrophy of the cervical enlargement in ALS participants, but no evidence of atrophy of the thoracolumbar enlargement. These results suggest that MR-based analyses of the cervical cord may be sufficient for in vivo investigations of spinal cord atrophy in ALS, and that atrophy of the cervical enlargement (C4-C7) is a potential imaging marker for quantifying lower motor neuron degradation.

Keywords: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Atrophy; Cervical enlargement; Cross-sectional area; Magnetic resonance imaging; Spinal cord.

MeSH terms

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis* / diagnostic imaging
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis* / pathology
Atrophy / diagnostic imaging
Atrophy / pathology
Cervical Cord* / diagnostic imaging
Cervical Cord* / pathology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
Motor Neurons / pathology
Spinal Cord / diagnostic imaging
Spinal Cord / pathology

Abstract

MeSH terms

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