Effective Utilization of MRI in the Diagnosis and Management of Multiple Sclerosis

MRI is the most important tool for diagnosis and management of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). MRI shows high sensitivity for detection of white matter lesions in the central nervous system and specificity for lesion dissemination in space and time. MRI is also used for tracking disease activity, prognostic evaluation, and monitoring the efficacy and safety of disease-modifying treatments. Nonconventional MRI measures (eg, brain atrophy) and quantitative measures of advanced MRI can capture features of MS beyond white matter lesions but are not currently implemented in clinical practice. Consensus guidelines on standardized MRI acquisition protocol have been recently published.