Objective. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive chronic disease that affects young adults and causes long-term medical and economic costs. One of the factors for the prognosis of MS is the atrophy of white and gray matter of the brain. Studies have shown that atrophic changes in the brain are already present in patients at the stage of a clinically isolated syndrome. Data about structural changes in early MS are limited.
The purpose of the work was to evaluate the amount of brain atrophy in patients with early multiple sclerosis compared with the control group of healthy individuals.
Matherials and methods. An observational, transverse, controlled study of patients with early MS was performed. To evaluate atrophic processes, 23 linear parameters were measured for each patient and healthy volunteers, and 14 indices for each MRI were calculated.
Results. The study included 25 patients with early PC and 29 healthy controls (ratio 1 : 1.16). In patients with early MS, the mean time from clinically isolated syndrome was (11.71±1.80) months. The average age of patients with early PC was (32.90±8.64) years; in the control group — (36.70±2.39) years. In both groups, women were prevalent: 19 (76%) women in the early PC, 18 (62%) in the control group. The total score on the EDSS scale at the time of the early PC was (2.91±0.80) points.
Conclusions. Atrophic changes in the brain are present at an early stage of multiple sclerosis. Atrophic changes occur predominantly in the gray matter of the brain. The most sensitive are the indices of the median structures of the brain, the width of the lateral and the third ventricle, as well as the ventricular temporal index.