Assessment of the hidden and still insufficiently known features of multiple sclerosis by using the most recent and high-accuracy imaging techniques

Multiple sclerosis is a major cause of disability in young people. This inflammatory disease affects both components of the brain and spinal cord: gray matter (body of neurons) and white matter (their extensions). Mechanisms affecting white matter in the form of "plaques" are relatively well known and observed by standard imaging. On the other hand, grey matter and “normal appearing brain tissue” damage, which is responsible for a significant part of the disability, is less accessible to conventional imaging approaches. We will study those areas by using new and highly precise imaging techniques. Hopefully, we will demonstrate a correlation between certain radiological physical parameters and the course of the disease. Our results could be used to better guide our future therapeutic strategies.