Buildup of Sodium in the Brain Connected to Multiple Sclerosis.

A buildup of sodium in the brain detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be a biomarker for the degeneration of nerve cells that occurs in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

In this study some interesting information was found stating that patients who where recently diagnosed or where in the early-stage of multiple sclerosis had a low amount of sodium buildup in a certain area of the brain, they also found that patients who have been diagnosed for a significant amount of time have sodium buildup throughout the brain.

"A major challenge with multiple sclerosis is providing patients with a prognosis of disease progression," said Patrick Cozzone, Ph.D., director emeritus of the Center for Magnetic Resonance in Biology and Medicine, a joint unit of National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Aix-Marseille University in Marseille, France.

 Dr. Cozzone, along with Wafaa Zaaraoui, Ph.D., research officer at CNRS, Jean-Philippe Ranjeva, Ph.D., professor in neuroscience at Aix-Marseille University and a European team of interdisciplinary researchers used 3 Tesla (3T) sodium MRI to study relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), the most common form of the disease in which clearly defined attacks of worsening neurologic function are followed by periods of recovery.

"We collaborated for two years with chemists and physicists to develop techniques to perform 3T sodium MRI on patients," Dr. Zaaraoui said.

"To better understand this disease, we need to probe new molecules. The time has come for probing brain sodium concentrations."

The researchers who where involved in this research conducted a sodium MRI on 26 different MS patients, including 14 with early-stage RRMS (Relapsing remitting MS) and 12 with advanced RRMS. Patients with early-stage RRMS had been diagnosed with MS for five years or less, and patients with advanced RRMS have been diagnosed for five years and up.

After the MRI screening it was clearly visible that early-stage RRMS patients contained abnormally high concentrations of sodium in a specific brain region, including the cerebellum, brainstem, and temporal pole. However, in the advanced-stage RRMS patients, the buildup of sodium was widespread throughout the entire brain, including normal appearing brain tissue.

"In RRMS patients, the amount of sodium accumulation in gray matter associated with the motor system was directly correlated to the degree of patient disability," Dr. Zaaraoui said.

Sadly the current treatments out in the market are only able to slow the progression of MS. This research and the result from this research may help pharmaceutical companies on developing new medication and assessing potential treatments.

"Brain sodium MR imaging can help us to better understand the disease and to monitor the occurrence of neuronal injury in MS patients and possibly in patients with other brain disorders,"Dr. Ranjeva said.

More information: "Distribution of Brain Sodium Accumulation Correlates with Disability in Multiple Sclerosis–A Cross-Sectional 23Na MR Imaging Study." Radiology.

Reference: MSRC - Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre