New artificial intelligence model reveals invisible multiple sclerosis lesions
New artificial intelligence model reveals invisible multiple sclerosis lesions
Publish Date: 2026-07-07 13:43:00
Source Domain: www.news-medical.net
One of the uncomfortable truths about multiple sclerosis is that the part of the brain likely to reveal the most about the disease and how a patient will be impacted has been mostly invisible to clinicians.
It’s long been known that the gray matter of the brain plays a key role in MS disease progression and cognitive impairment, but because magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has only been able to detect lesions in white matter, neither clinicians nor researchers have had a way to detect or monitor gray matter (cortical) lesions. And while many new drugs developed in the past decade can slow disease progression significantly, they primarily work on reducing white matter lesions.
Now, in a paper published in Communications Medicine, a University at Buffalo-led team reports that it has found a way to use artificial intelligence to reveal these otherwise invisible cortical lesions by reviewing existing MRI scans.
The significance of finally being able to see what has been known as one of the most important indicators in MS disease progression cannot be overstated, the researchers say.
“Detecting previously invisible cortical lesions on conventional legacy MRI scans has major implications for MS research and clinical care,” says Robert Zivadinov, MD, PhD, senior author on the paper, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Neurology and director of the Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center (BNAC) in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB. “The ability to see for the first time these previously hidden indicators of MS disease progression, including cognitive impairment and disability, is an important advance,” he says.
While the involvement of cortical lesions in MS has been known almost since the identification of MS in the late 19th century, they weren’t included on diagnostic criteria until the 21st century. And even when they were included, it was noted that their use would be greatly limited due to the current…
