Assessment of spinal cord damage in MS using MRI

Spinal cord imaging is important in the evaluation of patients with MS. There are several techniques available which provide satisfactory images of lesions in the spinal cord. Conventional measures used in the assessment of damage to the spinal cord include quantification of: (1) high intensity on T2 weighted images; (2) spinal cord enhancement; and (3) spinal cord atrophy. Although not presently implemented, newer methods including magnetization transfer, diffusion, and proton spectroscopy offer the potential for more specific classification of spinal cord MS. Assessment of spinal cord damage using MR still remains behind the development of brain methodology and represents both a challenge and an opportunity.