Thalamus and caudate nucleus volumes in patients with multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is the most common inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. MS can affect mainly the myelin sheath and axons primarily it causes demyelination after inflammation. Historically, multiple sclerosis (MS) was considered to be a disease that predominantly affected the white matter of the central nervous system (1,2). However, pathologic changes in the gray matter are increasingly recognized as important contributors to disease progression. Thalamus is a central link for several cortical-subcortical circuits, which subserve many neurologic functions. Recent studies shows that thalamic atrophy correlated to long-term progression of disability in patients with MS and the contribution of thalamic neuronal loss and atrophy such as white matter lesions pathologic processes. The purpose of this study to investigate the association between MS and the developing thalamus and caudate nucleus volume. 20 subjects and 49 patients with MS were included in our study. The volume of thalamus and caudate in all patients were measured on MRI examinations. In our study,the mean volume of right-left thalamus and right-left caudate in patient group were 3,80±0,96 cm³ and 3,06 ± 0,63 cm³, respectively. The mean volume of right-left thalamus and right-left caudate in control group were 6,06 ± 0,63 cm³ and 3,87 ± 0,56 cm³, respectively. The thalamus and caudate volume of were significantly lower than control group (P < 0.05). The thalamus volume of patients and control group depending on age is a negative correlation, were no statistically significant difference between them (p>0.05). The caudate volume of patients group depending on age is a negative correlation and statistically significant difference between them (P<0.05). The caudate volume of control group depending on age is a positive correlation and were no statistically significant difference between them (p>0.05). In conclusion, our study revealed abnormalities of thalamus and caudate which may be associated with physiopathology of MS.