DTI parameter changes in axonal loss due to multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of central nervous system with presumed autoimmune origin. It is largely accepted that the inflammatory induced loss of axons and neurons is the underlying cause of disability in multiple sclerosis patients. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a new neuroimaging technique based on MRI, used for quantification of water diffusion in tissues. We performed DTI to 12 MS patients in order to assess idiffusion parameters (fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, longitudinal diffusivity (F1) and transversal diffusivities (F2, F3). We found that F1 may be used as an indicator of axonal loss in human as well, proving a good correlation with degree of disability.