The standard MRI protocols routinely used for MS diagnosis have a limited specificity for the underlying brain pathology, possibly resulting in wrong diagnosis and incorrect treatments for patients. At the same time, using the same routine imaging protocols, the pathological heterogeneity of what is currently diagnosed as "MS" is probably underestimated, limiting the application of MRI as a tool to guide individually tailored treatment. The major goal of our research is to combine advanced and more established imaging, laboratory and clinical data in order i) to "dissect" the pathological heterogeneity between MS and mimicking disorders, ii) identify different pathological entities within the "MS spectrum" itself and, iii) evaluate clinical course and response-to-treatment based on the extracted multimodal features.
Thanks to the very productive collaboration between highly experienced clinicians (at Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc), talented neuroimaging scientists (NEUR, Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), UCLouvain) and neuroimmunologists (CEMO, Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), UCLouvain), we perform advanced MRI on neuroinflammatory patients, and we study the association between imaging, clinical and biological features.
Team members
Pietro Maggi
2021-present, principal investigator
Colin Vanden Bulke
2021-present, PhD student
Maxence Wynen
2021-present, PhD student
Anna Stölting
2022-present, PhD student
Serena Borrelli
2023-present, PhD student
François Guisset
2023-present, visiting fellow
Collaborations
National
Vincent van Pesch, MD, PhD, Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium (BE)
Topic: Advanced soluble biomarkers of neuroinflammation.
Barbara Willekens, MD, PhD, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium (BE)
Topic: Advanced MRI diagnostic biomarkers.
International
Renaud du Pasquier, MD, Head of the Department of Neurology, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne (CH)
Topic: neuroimmunology and biomarkers.
Meritxell Bach Cuadra, PhD, Director, Medical Image Analysis Laboratory, University of Lausanne, Lausanne (CH)
Topic: machine learning techniques.
Daniel S. Reich, MD, PhD Chief, Translational Neuroradiology Section/NINDS/NIH, Bethesda (US)
Topic: advanced MRI biomarkers.
Martina Absinta, MD, PhD, San Raffaele University Hospital, Milan (IT)
Topic: advanced MRI biomarkers.
Massimiliano Calabrese, MD, University Hospital of Verona, Verona (IT)
Topic: advanced MRI diagnostic biomarkers.
Andrew Solomon, MD, University of Vermont, VT (USA)
Topic: advanced MRI diagnostic biomarkers.
Ongoing Projects
- Unravelling MS lesion morphology and heterogeneity using advanced MRI metrics and their links to clinical scores and soluble biomarkers.
- Treatment effects on chronic active MS lesions using advanced imaging and laboratory biomarkers.
- Combination of advanced MRI biomarkers to improve the diagnostic and prognostic workup of MS patients.
- Studying the role of small vessel disease in MS.
- Study the interplay between neuroinflammation, glymphatic system disfunction and neurodegeneration and the role of lifestyle habits (e.g. diet) in MS.
Key publications
Maggi P, Macri SM, Gaitán MI, Leibovitch E, Wholer JE, Knight HL, Ellis M, Wu T, Silva AC, Massacesi L, Jacobson S, Westmoreland S, Reich DS. The formation of inflammatory demyelinated lesions in cerebral white matter. Annals of neurology. 2014;76(4):594-608.
Maggi P, Absinta M, Grammatico M, Vuolo L, Emmi G, Carlucci G, Spagni G, Barilaro A, Repice AM, Emmi L, Prisco D, Martinelli V, Scotti R, Sadeghi N, Perrotta G, Sati P, Dachy B, Reich DS, Filippi M, Massacesi L. Central vein sign differentiates Multiple Sclerosis from central nervous system inflammatory vasculopathies. Annals of neurology. 2018;83(2):283-294. doi:10.1002/ana.25146.
Maggi P, Kuhle J, Schädelin S, van der Meer F, Weigel M, Mathias A, Lu PJ, Rahmanzadeh R, Benkert P, La Rosa F, Bach Cuadra M, Sati P, Théaudin M, Pot C, van Pesch V, Leppert D, Stadelmann C, Kappos L, Du Pasquier R, Reich DS, Absinta M, Granziera C. Association of chronic white matter inflammation and neurofilament levels in patients with multiple sclerosis. Neurology. 2021 Jun 4;10.1212/WNL.0000000000012326.
Maggi P, Sati P, Cortese I, Jacobson S, Smith BR, Nath A, Ohayon J, van Pesch V, Perrotta G, Pot C, Théaudin M, Martinelli V, Scotti R, Wu T, Du Pasquier R, Calabresi P, Filippi M, Reich DS, Absinta M. Paramagnetic rim lesions are specific to multiple sclerosis: an international multicenter 3-Tesla MRI study. Annals of neurology. 2020; 88(5):1034-1042. doi:10.1002/ana.25877.
Maggi P, Bulcke CV, Pedrini E, Bugli C, Sellimi A, Wynen M, et al. B cell depletion therapy does not resolve chronic active multiple sclerosis lesions. eBioMedicine. 2023 Aug;94:104701.
Colin Vanden Bulcke, Anna Stölting, Dragan Maric, Benoît Macq, Martina Absinta, Pietro Maggi. Comparative overview of multi-shell diffusion MRI models to characterize the microstructure of multiple sclerosis lesions and periplaques. NeuroImage: Clinical 2024. doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2024.103593.
Borrelli S, Guisset F, Vanden Bulcke C, Stölting A, Bugli C, Lolli V, et al. Enlarged perivascular spaces are associated with brain microangiopathy and aging in multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler. 2024 Jun 7;13524585241256881.
Borrelli S, Martire MS, Stölting A, Vanden Bulcke C, Pedrini E, Guisset F, et al. Central Vein Sign, Cortical Lesions, and Paramagnetic Rim Lesions for the Diagnostic and Prognostic Workup of Multiple Sclerosis. Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm. 2024 Jul;11(4):e200253.