Cape Town - 2026 ISMRM-ISMRT Annual Meeting and Exhibition

What's New in Multiple Sclerosis?

Oral

Neuro A

Tuesday, 12 May 2026

Ballroom West

08:20 - 10:10

Moderators: Roland Henry & Dimitrios Gkotsoulias

Session Number: 405-02

CME/CE Credit Available

Similar Sessions

This session focuses on advanced MRI methods for characterizing multiple sclerosis. The presentations cover a broad range of cutting-edge approaches, including explainable deep learning, quantitative and microstructural imaging, myelin and iron mapping, central vein sign detection, vascular and blood–brain barrier dysfunction, and translational studies spanning animal models and human cohorts. Together, these talks illustrate how innovative MRI techniques provide mechanistic insight, enable disease differentiation, and support the development of imaging biomarkers with clinical relevance.

08:20		405-02-001. Four-year changes in white matter tract profiles characterize microstructural evolution in multiple sclerosis Pantea Ghazanfari Moghadam, Shannon Kolind, Elena Kovacevic, Poljanka Johnson, Erin Gallinger, Irene Vavasour, Roger Tam, Alex MacKay, David Li, Alexandre Prat, Anthony Traboulsee, Jiwon Oh, Sharada Balaji University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada Impact: Longitudinal relationships in tract profiles of myelin water fraction and fractional anisotropy were evaluated in healthy controls and individuals with multiple sclerosis. Relationships captured evolving microstructural changes in multiple sclerosis, reflecting disease-related changes otherwise difficult to detect.
08:31		405-02-002. Dynamic changes in sodium (23Na) neurite-fractions uncover the early phase of potentially reversible cellular energy distress Juliette Dufour, Mariem Hamzaoui, Andrea Lazzarotto, Théodore Soulier, Renata Porciuncula Baptista, Alexandre Vignaud, Giacomo Boffa, Matilde Inglese, Sandro Romanzetti, Iris Asllani, Fawzi Boumezbeur, Bruno Stankoff, Benedetta Bodini, Mara Cercignani Sorbonne Université, AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires La Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris, France Impact: By disentangling reversible from irreversible energetic dysfunction with 7T ²³Na-MRI and NODDI, we identified patient-specific energetic penumbra not yet coupled to neurodegeneration. This metric could stratify trials, refine prognosis and time neuroprotective therapies to a biologically plausible rescue window.
08:42		405-02-003. MRI-Derived Subtypes Identified by SuStaIn Capture Distinct Clinical, Cognitive and Disability Profiles in Multiple Sclerosis Loredana Storelli, Paolo Preziosa, Elisabetta Pagani, Nicolò Tedone, Monica Margoni, Federica Esposito, Paola Valsasina, Massimo Filippi, Maria A. Rocca IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy Impact: This study shows that SuStaIn-derived MRI subtypes reveal biologically distinct multiple sclerosis forms, differing in clinical phenotype, age at onset, disability, and cognition, offering a powerful tool to enhance patient stratification and enable precision medicine in multiple sclerosis.
08:53		405-02-004. Paramagnetic Changes in Multiple Sclerosis: Imaging-Pathology Correlations Kedar Mahajan, Kathryn Ryan, Kunio Nakamura, Ken Sakaie, Mark Lowe, Bruce Trapp, Stephen Jones, Emmanuel Obusez Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, United States of America Impact: Paramagetic Rim Lesions (PRL) have been proposed as an MRI-visible indicator of chronic immune activity in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). However, imaging-histology comparison suggests that the degree PRL reflect relevant pathology is unclear. Further research is required to adequately interpret PRL.
09:04		405-02-005. Performance of Myelin Water Imaging in vivo: Imaging-Histopathologic Correlation in Toxin-Induced Demyelination Leah Zuroff, Erin Argentieri, Aryil Bechtel, Christian Cordano, David Stefanoff, Caroline Guglielmetti, Roland Henry, Peder Larson, Ari Green University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, United States of America Impact: This work highlights the potential effects of both de/remyelination and inflammation on MWF signal and provides a framework for rigorous preclinical MRI–histopathologic validation. These insights help advance MWF toward use as a reliable quantitative endpoint in remyelination trials.
09:15		405-02-006. The Pathological Contributors to Mean Diffusivity: A Postmortem 9.4T MRI Study on Multiple Sclerosis Brain Lesions Lukas Schönenberger, Dimitrios Gkotsoulias, Ilaria Callegari, Jochen Leupold, Matthias Weigel, Erik Bahn, Valerij Kiselev, Dominik von Elverfeldt, Christine Stadelmann, Ludwig Kappos, Cristina Granziera University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland., Switzerland Impact: This work improves our understanding of clinically relevant microstructural contributors to the MD signal and shows potential to enhance the clinical interpretation of DWI derived contrasts.
09:26		405-02-007. Sex-Related Differences in White Matter Hyperintensity Segmentation: Insights from Six Automated Methods Joany Rodrigues, Mariana Bento, Letícia Rittner University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil Impact: Automated white matter hyperintensity (WMH) segmentation across six methods reveals sex-specific performance differences. Assessing and investigating such disparities is essential to ensure fair algorithmic performance, improve diagnostic accuracy, and support sex-specific clinical and research decisions.
09:37		405-02-008. Subvoxel QSM Quantification of Juxtacortical Paramagnetic Rims and Their Clinical Correlates in Multiple Sclerosis Qiyuan Zhu, Lisha Nie, Li yongmei UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom Impact: Subvoxel QSM reveals distinct iron and myelin patterns in cortical lesions (CLs), identifying juxtacortical paramagnetic rims (JPRs) as a potential biomarker of irreversible cortical damage, cognitive impairment, and relapse risk in multiple sclerosis (MS).
09:48		405-02-009. χ-Separation Reveals Iron-Related Inflammation in Multiple Sclerosis Lesions Greta Venturi, Gianfranco Vornetti, Federico Camilli, Ludovica Elia, Francesca Punzetti, Alessandra Lugaresi, Raffaele Lodi, Caterina Tonon IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy Impact: This study shows that χ-separation provides a quantitative marker of iron-driven chronic inflammation within paramagnetic rim lesions in multiple sclerosis. These measures improve clinical characterization and phenotype differentiation, opening new avenues for monitoring lesion activity directly in vivo.
09:59		405-02-010. In multiple sclerosis skull TSPO overexpression by 11C-PBR28 MR-PET associates with clinical disability and neurodegeneration Gianluca Corazzolla, Constantina Treaba, Mehrbod Mohammadian, Ludovica Brusaferri, Valeria Barletta, Nicole Zűrcher, Jacob Hooker, Jacob Sloane, Eric Klawiter, Roberto Bomprezzi, Maria A. Rocca, Massimo Filippi, Marco Loggia, Caterina Mainero Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, United States of America Impact: Skull bone TSPO emerges as a novel imaging biomarker of multiple sclerosis progression and a potential target for future therapeutic intervention