Brain MRI Volumetric Assessment of Patients With Multiple Sclerosis: The Volume of Basal Ganglia, Thalamus, and Posterior Fossa.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is defined as an inflammatory disease involving the white matter of the brain, but experience has shown that many non-white matter structures also change in MS. In this study, we aimed to examine some parts of the brain, such as the thalamus, basal ganglia, brainstem, and cerebellum, for volume changes. The results showed that all these structures can have a smaller volume in MS patients than in healthy people. Especially in the case of the thalamus and cerebellum, this difference increases with increasing the disease duration. Changes in the size of these structures can be the result of degeneration of the neurons in these areas. These changes can cause significant disability in patients; however, there may not be significant changes in the number of plaques in patients. Attention to these changes can be essential in interpreting patients' clinical changes, including motor and cognitive disabilities.