The Size of Virchow-Robin Spaces (VRSs) in Early Multiple Sclerosis

Background/Objective: Virchow-Robin spaces (VRSs) are pia-lined invaginations of subarachnoid spaces along with arteries and veins which enter and exit from the brain surface. These spaces are important in inflammatory processes of the brain parenchyma and the study of VRSs in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) as an immune mediated demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. We aimed to study the size of VRSs in newly diagnosed MS patients and sex and age matched healthy volunteers."nPatients and Methods: VRSs in 73 patients within 3 months of MS onset were compared with 73 healthy volunteers. Three mm thickness sections axial and coronal proton density, T2W and FlAIR MRIs were obtained for all of them. We evaluated the size of VRSs as classified to larger and smaller than 2 mm in diameter. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS ver 16 software."nResults: The total number of VRSs was significantly more in the MS group compared to the control group (21.4±10.9 vs. 16.8±13.8, P value< 0.001). Significantly more MS patients (23/73, 31.5%) compared to healthy volunteers (5/73, 6.8%) had VRSs larger than 2 mm (P value< 0.001). "nConclusion: In this study, more MS patients com-pared to healthy individuals had VRSs sized over than 2 mm. This could be justified by the ongoing inflammatory process in the brain parenchyma of MS patients. These findings might have the implication as a radiologic marker for MS, however, further studies are required to validate our results.