Objective:

We aimed to identify the white matter (WM) and grey matter (GM) abnormalities in multiple system atrophy (MSA) and assess the utility of longitudinal structural and diffusion changes as surrogate markers for tracking disease progression in MSA.

Background:

White matter abnormalities have been implicated in clinically relevant functional decline in MSA.

Design/Methods:

27 participants with early MSA (15 with clinically predominant cerebellar (MSA-C) and 12 with clinically predominant parkinsonian features (MSA-P)) and 14 controls were enrolled as a part of our prospective, longitudinal study of synucleinopathies. Using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion MRI (diffusion tensor and neurite orientation and dispersion density imaging), we analyzed the whole and regional brain changes in these participants. We also evaluated temporal imaging trajectories based on up to 3 annual follow-up scans and assessed the impact of baseline diagnosis on these imaging biomarkers using mixed effect models.

Results:

MSA patients exhibited more widespread WM changes than GM, particularly in the cerebellum and brainstem, with greater severity in MSA-C. Structural and diffusion measures in the cerebellum and brainstem deteriorated with disease progression. Rates of progression of these abnormalities were similar in both MSA subtypes, reflecting increasing overlap of clinical features over time.

Conclusions:

WM abnormalities are core features of MSA disease progression and advance at similar rates in clinical MSA subtypes. Multimodal MRI imaging reveals novel insights into the distribution and pattern of brain abnormalities and their progression in MSA. Selected structural and diffusion measures may be useful for tracking disease progression in MSA clinical trials.