Five-year longitudinal study of neck vessel cross-sectional area in multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Alterations of neck vessel cross-sectional area in multiple sclerosis have been reported. Our aim was to investigate the evolution of the neck vessel cross-sectional area in patients with MS and healthy controls during 5 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-nine patients with MS (44 relapsing-remitting MS, 25 progressive MS) and 22 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were examined twice, 5 years apart, on a 3T MR imaging scanner using 2D neck MR angiography. Cross-sectional areas were computed for the common carotid/internal carotid arteries, vertebral arteries, and internal jugular veins for all slices between the C3 and C7 cervical levels. Longitudinal cross-sectional area differences at each cervical level and the whole-vessel course were tested within study groups and between patients with MS with and without cardiovascular disease using mixed-model analysis and the related-samples Wilcoxon singed rank test. The Benjamini-Hochberg procedure was performed to correct for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: No significant cross-sectional area differences were seen between patients with MS and healthy controls at baseline or at follow-up. During the follow-up, significant cross-sectional area decrease was found in patients with MS for the common carotid artery-ICAs (C4: P .048; C7: P .005; whole vessel: P .012), for vertebral arteries (C3: P .028; C4: P .028; C7: P .028; whole vessel: P .012), and for the internal jugular veins (C3: P .014; C4: P .008; C5: P .010; C6: P .010; C7: P .008; whole vessel: P .002). Patients with MS without cardiovascular disease had significantly greater change than patients with MS with cardiovascular disease for internal jugular veins at all levels. CONCLUSIONS: For 5 years, patients with MS showed significant cross-sectional area decrease of all major neck vessels, regardless of the disease course and cardiovascular status.