| Multiple sclerosis is a disabling demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system, which presents with a wide variety of symptoms and an unpredictable disease progression. The disease heterogeneity along with the inaccessibility of the brain has made it difficult to study. Advances in Magnetic Resonance Imaging have allowed for tremendous advances in understanding this complex disorder.;Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) allows for identification of a chemical signature of a selected volume of the brain in vivo. While previous studies utilizing MRS have demonstrated metabolic changes in lesions and normal appearing white matter (NAWM) of MS patients, these studies have selectively analyzed only 4-6 metabolites in an independent manner. In order to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the underlying MS disease pathology, we developed and applied untargeted metabolomics tools to brain 1H MRS in vivo in patients with the relapsing-remitting form of MS. This analysis was used to characterize the different metabolic signatures of healthy brain tissue from that of lesions and NAWM of MS subjects. Further, we extended the analysis to characterize different clinical aspects of MS, such as physical disability and cognitive dysfunction, finding unique metabolic signatures for a variety of different aspects of MS. |
