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Abstract
Objective To assess the value of the central vein sign (CVS) on a clinical 3T scanner to distinguish between multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD).
Methods Eighteen aquaporin-4-antibody-positive patients with NMOSD, 18 patients with relapsing-remitting MS, and 25 healthy controls underwent 3T MRI. The presence of a central vein in white matter lesions on susceptibility-weighted imaging, defined as a thin hypointense line or a small dot, was recorded.
Results The proportion of lesions with the CVS was higher in MS than NMOSD (80% vs 32%, p < 0.001). A greater proportion of lesions with the CVS predicted the diagnosis of MS, rather than NMOSD (odds ratio 1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04 to 1.16, p = 0.001), suggesting that each percent unit increase in the proportion of lesions with the CVS in an individual patient was associated with a 10% increase in the risk of the same patient having MS. If more than 54% of the lesions on any given scan show the CVS, then the patient can be given a diagnosis of MS with an accuracy of 94% (95% CIs 81.34, 99.32, p < 0.001, sensitivity/specificity 90%/100%).
Conclusion The clinical value of the CVS in the context of the differential diagnosis between MS and NMOSD, previously suggested using 7T scanners, is now extended to clinical 3T scanners, thereby making a step towards the use of CVS in clinical practice.
Classification of evidence This study provides Class III evidence that the CVS on 3T MRI accurately distinguishes patients with MS from those with seropositive NMOSD.
Glossary
- CI=
- confidence interval;
- CVS=
- central vein sign;
- EDSS=
- Expanded Disability Status Scale;
- MS=
- multiple sclerosis;
- NMOSD=
- neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder;
- OR=
- odds ratio;
- RRMS=
- relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis;
- SWI=
- susceptibility-weighted imaging
Footnotes
Go to Neurology.org/N for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the article.
Editorial, page 631
Class of Evidence: Criteria for rating therapeutic and diagnostic studies NPub.org/coe
- Received June 19, 2017.
- Accepted in final form December 6, 2017.
- © 2018 American Academy of Neurology
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