Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Multiple Sclerosis: New MRI Contrast Medium Enables Early Diagnosis In Animal Model

ScienceDaily (Aug. 4, 2008)

In an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), neuroradiologists and neurologists of the University hospitals of Heidelberg and Würzburg have been able to visualize inflammatory tissue damage, most of which had remained unrecognized up to now, with the aid of a new contrast medium, Gadofluorine M, in magnetic resonance imaging.

In particular at the early stage of the disease, drug treatment is effective. Up to now, how-ever, an early diagnosis is frequently not established with certainty, especially if no (or very few) inflammatory lesions are present on MRI. "With this new contrast medium, we were able to visualize five to ten times more foci of inflammation in comparison to conventional MRI images and contrast media", reports Professor Dr. Martin Bendszus, Medical Director of the Department of Neuroradiology at the University hospital of Heidelberg.

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