ROLE OF FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN EVALUATION OF PATIENTS WITH WHITE MATTER DISEASES

This study aims to highlight the value of MR Spectroscopy in the evaluation of patients with white matter diseases (Especially Multiple sclerosis as it is the commonest white matter disease) and to what extent its use can add valuable information to cMRI.White matter diseases of the brain are classified into 2 main groups:* Demyelinating group in which there is destruction of normally formed myelin as in multiple sclerosis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy.* Dysmyelinating group in which there is an abnormal formation of myelin due to an enzymatic defect as in metachromatic leukodystrophy, adrenoleukodustrophy, Alexander, Canavan, and Krabbe’s diseases.Conventional MRI, including T2 WI, T1 WI with and without gadolinium enhancement & FLAIR, is the gold standard imaging technique for identification of demyelinating lesions and it provide several markers of disease activity.