How accurate is this article...

[Daisycat]

I am not sure if links are allowed https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Health...4508452&page=1 If they aren;t I apologize but my good old buddy Dr Google doesn't want to let me go and before I spend all night reading every word of my MRI report I want to know if this article is true or if anyone has heard about this.

[KoKo]

I am not sure if links are allowed https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Health...4508452&page=1 If they aren;t I apologize but my good old buddy Dr Google doesn't want to let me go and before I spend all night reading every word of my MRI report I want to know if this article is true or if anyone has heard about this.

Daisycat

I don't know, the bottom of the article has a Sept 2007 date.

MS research news is continuously changing.

If you could find a more recent article that has the same basic facts about MS lesions predicting progression, then it's probably true.

Take Care

[Jules A]

Yeah, its old, but in a reputable journal, and on a brief search I haven't seen much supporting it since although I do believe they will continue to find more predictors as the technology advances. That said predictive value is only so useful in this particular disease right now since there are minimal things that can be done to ameliorate it even if we think it will be an aggressive course. It might influence med choice for example to start with an IV formulation I suppose.

Daisycat check out google scholar if you want professional articles. I have been underwhelmed with the data in recent years with the exception of the new medication options that I would still like to see a decade or so down the road.

[KoKo]

Also, notice how these phrases are worded:

...may help predict the severity of disease progression

...may help doctors both diagnose multiple sclerosis more accurately and identify patients at greater risk for disease progression and disability

...seemed to predict how severe the disease would get

"The correlation was modest, but it was there," he added, and needs to be replicated by other groups of researchers, just as all scientific research should".

And yet as usual, the title of the article "Brain Lesions Predict MS Progression" implies that it is a done deal.

Take Care

[pennstater]

Since I couldn't find any follow up and the article infers more potential links, not sure I would put alot of weight into it.

A lot of MRI studies I read about now, seekm to also involve functional MRIs, that look at how the brain responds in certain tasks.

I saw something late last night about a med school use of MRI that was able to see Alzheimer's indicators before atrophy even showed. So they were expanding to start looking into other conditions, like MS. It was related to get e mapping. Couldn't find it this am, but remembered it was only a six minute MRI!