Information processing speed and episodic memory are two commonly
affected cognitive abilities in MS. Insights into the mechanisms of and
relationships between these abilities have recently come from structural
neuroimaging techniques, but few studies have used fluid-attenuated
inversion recovery (FLAIR), a neuroimaging sequence known to be sensitive
to cortical and juxtacortical lesions in MS. We hypothesized that a
volumetric index of FLAIR total lesion volume (TLV) would be associated
with slowed processing speed and verbal memory dysfunction in MS. Twenty
MS patients underwent FLAIR imaging and were administered measures of
verbal memory and processing speed. Correlational and regression analyses
indicated that TLV was directly and independently related to measures of
processing speed and verbal memory, and TLV accounted for 56% of the
variance in cognitive performance. These findings, considered in the
context of prior work, suggest that FLAIR TLV is a useful predictor of
commonly impaired cognitive functions in MS, and shows promise as a
functionally relevant biomarker for disease status. (JINS, 2005,
11, 205–209.)
