Advances in MRI imaging may lead to new standards for faster
diagnosis of multiple sclerosis DALLAS – Sept. 9, 2003 – The
notoriously long and arduous process of diagnosing multiple
sclerosis may soon be simplified, a researcher at UT
Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas has reported. In a paper
published in today’s issue of Neurology, Dr. Elliott Frohman and
his colleagues said data suggest that advanced applications of
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans can be used in concert
with clinical observations to diagnose the complex neurological
disorder more quickly. “This assessment provides compelling
evidence that in the majority of patients with a first MS-like
attack, the presence of characteristic MRI lesions within the
central nervous system strongly predicts future conversion to
clinically definite MS,” said Dr. Elliot Frohman, lead author of
the paper and head of UT Southwestern’s multiple sclerosis
program. Evidence of white matter abnormalities detected in
different regions of the brain on a sophi