Gadovist in Multiple Sclerosis
Gadovist in Multiple Sclerosis
download article
View this in Italian here, View this is in French here, View this is German here, View this in Russian here , View this in Spanish here ,
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the nervous system due to a still unknown antigen.1 While the diagnosis of MS relies primarily on a combination of typical clinical symptoms and paraclinical findings (cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] findings from lumbar puncture), neuroimaging plays an important role in its management.2 While plaques can sometimes be seen on computed tomography (CT), nowadays CT plays no role whatsoever except as a rule-out method in patients with acute symptoms in whom haemorrhage or stroke must be diagnosed/excluded; instead, imaging today relies entirely on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
As diagnosis using imaging relies on counting the number of demyelinating lesions in the white matter, the presence of enhancing lesions will increase the diagnostic yield of the method. As a result, contrast-enhanced imaging is mandatory in the assessment of patients with known or suspected MS.3–6
Neuroimaging plays an important role not only in the diagnosis but also in the management of these diseases: indeed, imaging and contrast enhancement can demonstrate disease activity and thus be used not just to monitor the natural history of the disease, but also to look at the impact of treatment.
Imaging Approach
Multiplanar fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) and T2 sequences (usually axial T2 and FLAIR and sagittal FLAIR) together with axial pre-contrast T1 and post-contrast T1 in all three planes constitutes the traditional approach to the patient with MS. It must be stressed that imaging of the orbits (with coronal T2 and axial and coronal fat-saturated T1-weighted post-contrast images) can often be performed in addition to imaging the whole spinal cord. Additionally, techniques such as diffusion tensor imaging, diffusion-weighted imaging, spectroscopy and magnetisation transfer have been used with success in this disease.
In addition to clinical and laboratory criteria, classifications such as those proposed by MacDonald or Barkhof are usually used in order to make the diagnosis of MS more precise. These classifications include a count of the number of lesions visible on T2-weighted images in the white matter, as well as of lesions that enhance.
Rationale for Gadovist One-molar Contrast Material
Gadovist (gadobutrol) is a one-molar gadolinium chelate that has found wide acceptance in applications in the central nervous system (CNS). It has been used for applications in the brain relating to imaging of primary brain tumours and metastases, as well as for optimising brain perfusion in stroke.7–11 Besides its uniquely high concentration, Gadovist has been found to have a higher relaxivity than other macrocycle contrast media (see Figure 1), which leads to the highest available T1-shortening per volume and should also allow increased contrast at the same concentration.12
- Ge Y, Multiple sclerosis: the role of MR imaging, AJNR Am J Neuroradiol, 2006;27:1165–76.
- Simon JH, Li D, Traboulsee A, et al., Standardized MR imaging protocol for multiple sclerosis: Consortium of MS Centers consensus guidelines, AJNR Am J Neuroradiol, 2006;27(2): 455–61.
- Polman CH, Reingold SC, Edan G, et al., Diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis: 2005 revisions to the “McDonald Criteria”, Ann Neurol, 2005;58(6):840–46.
- McDonald WI, Compston A, Edan G, et al., Recommended diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis: guidelines from the International Panel on the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, Ann Neurol, 2001;50(1):121–7.
- Barkhof F, Filippi M, Miller DH, et al., Comparison of MRI criteria at first presentation to predict conversion to clinically definite multiple sclerosis, Brain, 1997;120(Pt 11):2059–69.
- Barkhof F, Rocca M, Francis G, et al.; Early Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis Study Group, Validation of diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging criteria for multiple sclerosis and response to interferon beta1a, Ann Neurol, 2003;53(6):718–24.
- Lemke AJ, Sander B, Balzer T, et al., Safety and use of gadobutrol in patients with brain tumors (phase III trial), ROFO, 1997;167(6):591–8.
- Essig M, Lodemann KP, Le-Huu M, et al., Intraindividual comparison of gadobenate dimeglumine and gadobutrol for cerebral magnetic resonance perfusion imaging at 1.5 T, Invest Radiol, 2006;41(3):256–63.
- Tombach B, Benner T, Reimer P, et al., Do highly concentrated gadolinium chelates improve MR brain perfusion imaging? Intraindividually controlled randomized crossover concentration comparison study of 0.5 versus 1.0 mol/L gadobutrol, Radiology, 2003;226(3):880–88.
- Benner T, Reimer P, Erb G, et al., Cerebral MR perfusion imaging: first clinical application of a 1 M gadolinium chelate (Gadovist 1.0) in a double-blinded randomized dose-finding study, J Magn Reson Imaging, 2000;12(3):371–80.
- Vogl TJ, Friebe CE, Balzer T, et al., Diagnosis of cerebral metastasis with standard dose gadobutrol vs. a high dose protocol. Intraindividual evaluation of a phase II high dose study, Radiologe, 1995;35(8):508–16.
- Rohrer M, Bauer H, Mintorovitch J, et al., Comparison of magnetic properties of MRI contrast media solutions at different magnetic field strengths, Invest Radiol, 2005;40:715–24.
- Uysal E, Erturk SM, Yildirim H, et al., Sensitivity of immediate and delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI after injection of 0.5 M and 1.0 M gadolinium chelates for detecting multiple sclerosis lesions, AJR Am J Roentgenol, 2007;188(3):697–702.
- Bongartz G, Imaging in the time of NFD/NSF: do we have to change our routines concerning renal insufficiency?, MAGMA, 2007;20(2):57–62.
