Association of Cortical Lesions With Regional Glutamate, GABA, <i>N</i> -Acetylaspartate, and Myoinositol Levels in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis
Mads Alexander Just Madsen, Michal Považan, Vanessa Wiggermann, Henrik Lundell, Morten Blinkenberg, Jeppe Romme Christensen, Finn Sellebjerg, Hartwig R. Siebner
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cortical lesions contribute to disability in multiple sclerosis (MS), but their impact on regional neurotransmitter levels remains to be clarified. We tested the hypothesis that cortical lesions are associated with regional glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations within the affected cortical region. METHODS: -acetylaspartate, and myoinositol concentrations in patients with MS (inclusion criteria: diagnosis of relapsing-remitting [RR] or secondary progressive MS [SPMS]; age 18-80 years) and age and sex-matched healthy controls. Data were collected at a single center between August 2018 and September 2020. Linear mixed-effects models were used to test for associations between metabolite concentrations and cortical lesion volumes within the same MR-spectroscopy voxel. RESULTS: = 0.02). DISCUSSION: Cortical lesions are associated with local increases in glutamate and a reduction in GABA concentration within the lesional or perilesional tissue. Further studies are needed to investigate the causal relationship between cortical lesions and changes in neurotransmitter concentrations.