Study of brain veins in patients with multiple sclerosis with 3.0 T susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance imaging

：Objective To explore thevalue of susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) in detecting the changes of cerebralinternal and their tributaries.especially the deep medullary veins,in the patientswith multiple sclerosis(MS).Methods Conventional MRI and SWI were performed in 43 MSpatients and 43 healthy volunteers(control group).Two groups were matched on gender andage.In the MS patients.the course of disease was less than 0.5 year in 5 paticnts,between0.5 year and 2.0 years in 17 patients and more than 2.0 years in 21 patients.SWI venogramswere obtained by performing minimum intensity projection(MinIP)reconstruction.Comparingwith the control group,the changes of the cerebral internal veins,their main tributariesand the deep medullar in the MS patients were evaluated by 2 experiencedradiologists with double blind methods.Kruskal Wallis H analysis and Wilcoxon rank testwere used for statistics.Results In the 43 patients,23 had active MS(active group),20 hadchronic MS (chronic group).(1)The mean score of the cerebral internal and their maintributaries was(1.96±0.71)for 23 active MS patients,(1.25±0.44)for 20 chronic MSpatients and(3.00±0.00)for the control group,respectively.There were significantdifferences among the three groups(H=67.65,P<0.01).And the mean scores in the activeand chronic MS patients were lower than that in the control group (1.96±0.71 vs 3.00±0.00,Z=-6.67.P<0.01:1.25±0.44vs 3.00±0.00,Z=-7.76,P<0.01),the mean score in the active MS patients was higher thanthat in the chronic MS patients(Z=-3.35,P<0.01).(2)The deep medullar wereshortened or diminished in 38 MS patients whose course of disease were more than 0. 5year, and increased and prolonged in 5 MS patients whose course of disease were less than0.5 year. (3) The were dilated and prolonged in 35periventricular enhanced lesions in the 23 active MS patients, and thin and short in 80periventricular non-enhanced lesions in the 20 chronic MS patients. However, in 3 chronicMS patients, slightly expanded and prolonged penetrating veins were detectedin 6 periventricular non-enhanced lesions. Conclusion SWI can reveal the changes of thecerebral internal and their tributaries, especially the deep medullary veins, indifferent stages of MS patients, providing important information for pathogenesis andpathological study for MS patients.