Quantitative 7T MRI does not detect occult brain damage in neuromyelitis optica

Multiciliated ependymal cells: an update on biology and pathology in the adult brain

Mature multiciliated ependymal cells line the cerebral ventricles where they form a partial barrier between the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and brain parenchyma and regulate local CSF microcirculation through coordinated ciliary beating. Although the ependyma is a highly specialized brain interface with barrier, trophic, and perhaps even regenerative capacity, it remains a misfit in the canon of glial neurobiology. We provide an update to seminal reviews in the field by conducting a scoping review of the post-2010 mature multiciliated ependymal cell literature. We delineate how recent findings have either called into question or substantiated classical views of the ependymal cell. Beyond this synthesis, we document the basic methodologies and study characteristics used to describe multiciliated ependymal cells since 1980. Our review serves as a comprehensive resource for future investigations of mature multiciliated ependymal cells.

Advanced Brain Imaging in Central Nervous System Demyelinating Diseases

In recent decades, advances in neuroimaging have profoundly transformed our comprehension of central nervous system demyelinating diseases. Remarkable technological progress has enabled the integration of cutting-edge acquisition and postprocessing techniques, proving instrumental in characterizing subtle focal changes, diffuse microstructural alterations, and macroscopic pathologic processes. This review delves into state-of-the-art modalities applied to multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease. Furthermore, it explores how this dynamic landscape holds significant promise for the development of effective and personalized clinical management strategies, encompassing support for differential diagnosis, prognosis, monitoring treatment response, and patient stratification.

Accelerated Simultaneous T2 and T2* Mapping of Multiple Sclerosis Lesions Using Compressed Sensing Reconstruction of Radial RARE-EPI MRI

(1) Background: Radial RARE-EPI MRI facilitates simultaneous T₂ and T₂* mapping (2in1-RARE-EPI). With modest undersampling (R = 2), the speed gain of 2in1-RARE-EPI relative to Multi-Spin-Echo and Multi-Gradient-Recalled-Echo references is limited. Further reduction in scan time is crucial for clinical studies investigating T₂ and T₂* as imaging biomarkers. We demonstrate the feasibility of further acceleration, utilizing compressed sensing (CS) reconstruction of highly undersampled 2in1-RARE-EPI. (2) Methods: Two-fold radially-undersampled 2in1-RARE-EPI data from phantoms, healthy volunteers (n = 3), and multiple sclerosis patients (n = 4) were used as references, and undersampled (R_extra = 1-12, effective undersampling R_eff = 2-24). For each echo time, images were reconstructed using CS-reconstruction. For T₂ (RARE module) and T₂* mapping (EPI module), a linear least-square fit was applied to the images. T₂ and T₂* from CS-reconstruction of undersampled data were benchmarked against values from CS-reconstruction of the reference data. (3) Results: We demonstrate accelerated simultaneous T₂ and T₂* mapping using undersampled 2in1-RARE-EPI with CS-reconstruction is feasible. For R_extra = 6 (TA = 01:39 min), the overall MAPE was ≤8% (T₂*) and ≤4% (T₂); for R_extra = 12 (TA = 01:06 min), the overall MAPE was <13% (T₂*) and <5% (T₂). (4) Conclusion: Substantial reductions in scan time are achievable for simultaneous T₂ and T₂* mapping of the brain using highly undersampled 2in1-RARE-EPI with CS-reconstruction.

The different damage patterns of short-, middle- and long-range connections between patients with relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

Objective

To investigate the differences in short-, middle- and long-range connections between patients with relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), and their correlation with brain tissue volume, structural and functional network parameters.

Methods

A total of 51 RRMS, 42 NMOSD and 56 health controls (HC) were recruited. Of these 25 RRMS (median: 1.37 years) and 20 NMOSD (median: 1.25 years) patients were also studied at follow-up. The whole-brain fiber connection was divided into three groups according to the trisected lengths of the tract in HC group, including short-, middle- and long-range connections. The brain tissue features (including total brain tissue and deep grey matter volumes) and parameters of DTI and functional networks (including the shortest path, clustering coefficient, local efficiency and global efficiency) were calculated. The differences in fiber number (FN) and average fractional anisotropy (FA) were compared between RRMS and NMOSD by the One-way ANOVA and post hoc tests. The correlation between the FN or FA and the brain tissue volume, DTI and functional network parameters were further analyzed by Pearson analysis.

Results

Compared to HC and NMOSD, the total number of fibers in RRMS was decreased, including the reduced FN of middle- and long-range connections, but increased FN of short-range connections. Compared to HC, the FA of three fibers in RRMS and NMOSD were reduced significantly, and the decrease of FA in RRMS was greater than in NMOSD. There were correlations between the FN of short-, and long-range connections and the atrophy of whole brain tissue in two diseases and structural network topological parameters in RRMS. Additionally, there was no significant difference of FN and FA in short-, middle- and long-range connections between the baseline and follow-up in two diseases.

Conclusions

RRMS and NMOSD patients have different patterns of fiber connection damage. The FN of different lengths in RRMS and NMOSD patients may be associated with brain atrophy. The FN and FA of different lengths may explain the decreased efficiency of the structural network in RRMS patients. In the short-term follow-up, neither has worsened damage of different fibers in two diseases.

Free-water diffusion tensor imaging detects occult periependymal abnormality in the AQP4-IgG-seropositive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

To compare free-water corrected diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures in the normal-appearing periependymal area between AQP4-IgG-seropositive NMOSD and multiple sclerosis (MS) to investigate occult pathophysiology. This prospective study included 44 patients (mean age, 39.52 ± 11.90 years; 14 men) with AQP4-IgG-seropositive NMOSD (n = 20) and MS (n = 24) who underwent DTI between April 2014 and April 2020. Based on free-water corrected DTI measures obtained from normal-appearing periependymal voxels of (1) lateral ventricles and (2) the 3rd and 4th ventricles as dependent variables, MANCOVA was conducted to compare the two groups, using clinical variables as covariates. A significant difference was found between AQP4-IgG-seropositive NMOSD and MS in the 3rd and 4th periependymal voxels (λ = 0.462, P = 0.001). Fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity was significantly decreased and radial diffusivity was increased in AQP4-IgG-seropositive NMOSD in post-hoc analysis, compared with MS (F = 27.616, P < 0.001, F = 7.336, P = 0.011, and F = 5.800, P = 0.022, respectively). Free-water corrected DTI measures differ in the periependymal area surrounding the diencephalon and brain stem/cerebellum between MS and NMOSD, which may suggest occult white matter injury in areas with distribution of AQP-4 in NMOSD.

MRI Prognostic Factors in Multiple Sclerosis, Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder, and Myelin Oligodendrocyte Antibody Disease

Several MRI measures have been developed in the last couple of decades, providing a number of imaging biomarkers that can capture the complexity of the pathological processes occurring in multiple sclerosis (MS) brains. Such measures have provided more specific information on the heterogeneous pathologic substrate of MS-related tissue damage, being able to detect, and quantify the evolution of structural changes both within and outside focal lesions. In clinical practise, MRI is increasingly used in the MS field to help to assess patients during follow-up, guide treatment decisions and, importantly, predict the disease course. Moreover, the process of identifying new effective therapies for MS patients has been supported by the use of serial MRI examinations in order to sensitively detect the sub-clinical effects of disease-modifying treatments at an earlier stage than is possible using measures based on clinical disease activity. However, despite this has been largely demonstrated in the relapsing forms of MS, a poor understanding of the underlying pathologic mechanisms leading to either progression or tissue repair in MS as well as the lack of sensitive outcome measures for the progressive phases of the disease and repair therapies makes the development of effective treatments a big challenge. Finally, the role of MRI biomarkers in the monitoring of disease activity and the assessment of treatment response in other inflammatory demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system, such as neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and myelin oligodendrocyte antibody disease (MOGAD) is still marginal, and advanced MRI studies have shown conflicting results. Against this background, this review focused on recently developed MRI measures, which were sensitive to pathological changes, and that could best contribute in the future to provide prognostic information and monitor patients with MS and other inflammatory demyelinating diseases, in particular, NMOSD and MOGAD.

Progressive brain microstructural damage in patients with multiple sclerosis but not in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: A cross-sectional and follow-up tract-based spatial statistics study

BACKGROUND

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) may sometimes be misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis (MS) because both disorders have similar clinical presentations and commonly show white matter damage in the brain. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an advanced MRI technique to assess the microstructural organization of white matter and provides greater pathological specificity than conventional MRI. In the present combined cross-sectional and longitudinal study, the novel DTI technique of Track-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) was used to investigate the difference of DTI parameter abnormalities between NMOSD and MS.

METHODS

A total of 42 patients with NMOSD, 51 patients with MS and 56 health controls (HC) were recruited and of these 14 patients with NMOSD and 13 patients with MS were also studied at follow-up after an average interval of approximately one year. Measurements of fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusion (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD) were compared at baseline and follow-up in patients with NMOSD and MS.

RESULTS

Significant reduction in FA, increase in MD, AD and RD were observed in patients with MS (p < 0.05) and reduced FA was shown in NMOSD (p < 0.05) compared to HC, with all the effects, together with lesion load on T1WI and T2WI, being greater in patients with MS than in patients with NMOSD (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the time interval to follow-up in patients with MS (1.37 years) and NMOSD (1.25 years) (p > 0.05), during which there were significant changes in EDSS score between baseline and follow-up in NMOSD and MS patients (p < 0.05). There was a significantly reduced FA, and increased MD and RD in patients with MS (p < 0.05), but no significant changes in patients with NMOSD (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Both MS and NMOSD have microstructure damage in white matter, while the progressive change in brain microstructural properties is observed in patients with MS but may not in patients with NMOSD in a short-term follow-up.

Magnetic resonance imaging in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) associated with antibodies to aquaporin-4 (AQP4), which has distinct clinical, radiological and pathological features, but also has some overlap with multiple sclerosis and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody associated disease. Early recognition of NMOSD is important because of differing responses to both acute and preventive therapy. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has proved essential in this process. Key MR imaging clues to the diagnosis of NMOSD are longitudinally extensive lesions of the optic nerve (more than half the length) and spinal cord (three or more vertebral segments), bilateral optic nerve lesions and lesions of the optic chiasm, area postrema, floor of the IV ventricle, periaqueductal grey matter, hypothalamus and walls of the III ventricle. Other NMOSD-specific lesions are denoted by their unique morphology: heterogeneous lesions of the corpus callosum, 'cloud-like' gadolinium (Gd)-enhancing white matter lesions and 'bright spotty' lesions of the spinal cord. Other lesions described in NMOSD, including linear periventricular peri-ependymal lesions and patch subcortical white matter lesions, may be less specific. The use of advanced MR imaging techniques is yielding further useful information regarding focal degeneration of the thalamus and optic radiation in NMOSD and suggests that paramagnetic rim patterns and changes in normal appearing white matter are specific to MS. MR imaging is crucial in the early recognition of NMOSD and in directing testing for AQP4 antibodies and guiding immediate acute treatment decisions. Increasingly, MR imaging is playing a role in diagnosing seronegative cases of NMOSD.

Differentiation between multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders by multiparametric quantitative MRI using convolutional neural network

Multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders are both neuroinflammatory diseases and have overlapping clinical manifestations. We developed a convolutional neural network model that differentiates between the two based on magnetic resonance imaging data. Thirty-five patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and eighteen age-, sex-, disease duration-, and Expanded Disease Status Scale-matched patients with anti-aquaporin-4 antibody-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders were included in this study. All patients were scanned on a 3-T scanner using a multi-dynamic multi-echo sequence that simultaneously measures R1 and R2 relaxation rates and proton density. R1, R2, and proton density maps were analyzed using our convolutional neural network model. To avoid overfitting on a small dataset, we aimed to separate features of images into those specific to an image and those common to the group, based on SqueezeNet. We used only common features for classification. Leave-one-out cross validation was performed to evaluate the performance of the model. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the developed convolutional neural network model for differentiating between the two disorders was 0.859. The sensitivity to multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, and accuracy were 80.0%, 83.3%, and 81.1%, respectively. In conclusion, we developed a convolutional neural network model that differentiates between multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, and which is designed to avoid overfitting on small training datasets. Our proposed algorithm may facilitate a differential diagnosis of these diseases in clinical practice.

Transient enlargement of brain ventricles during relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

The brain ventricles are part of the fluid compartments bridging the CNS with the periphery. Using MRI, we previously observed a pronounced increase in ventricle volume (VV) in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Here, we examined VV changes in EAE and MS patients in longitudinal studies with frequent serial MRI scans. EAE mice underwent serial MRI for up to 2 months, with gadolinium contrast as a proxy of inflammation, confirmed by histopathology. We performed a time-series analysis of clinical and MRI data from a prior clinical trial in which RRMS patients underwent monthly MRI scans over 1 year. VV increased dramatically during preonset EAE, resolving upon clinical remission. VV changes coincided with blood-brain barrier disruption and inflammation. VV was normal at the termination of the experiment, when mice were still symptomatic. The majority of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients showed dynamic VV fluctuations. Patients with contracting VV had lower disease severity and a shorter duration. These changes demonstrate that VV does not necessarily expand irreversibly in MS but, over short time scales, can expand and contract. Frequent monitoring of VV in patients will be essential to disentangle the disease-related processes driving short-term VV oscillations from persistent expansion resulting from atrophy.

Brain ventricle volumes expand and contract during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, suggesting that short-term inflammatory processes are interlaced with gradual brain atrophy.

Ultra-high-field 7-T MRI in multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases: from pathology to clinical practice

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is essential for the early diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), for investigating the disease pathophysiology, and for discriminating MS from other neurological diseases. Ultra-high-field strength (7-T) MRI provides a new tool for studying MS and other demyelinating diseases both in research and in clinical settings. We present an overview of 7-T MRI application in MS focusing on increased sensitivity and specificity for lesion detection and characterisation in the brain and spinal cord, central vein sign identification, and leptomeningeal enhancement detection. We also discuss the role of 7-T MRI in improving our understanding of MS pathophysiology with the aid of metabolic imaging. In addition, we present 7-T MRI applications in other demyelinating diseases. 7-T MRI allows better detection of the anatomical, pathological, and functional features of MS, thus improving our understanding of MS pathology in vivo. 7-T MRI also represents a potential tool for earlier and more accurate diagnosis.

Neuromyelitis optica

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO; also known as Devic syndrome) is a clinical syndrome characterized by attacks of acute optic neuritis and transverse myelitis. In most patients, NMO is caused by pathogenetic serum IgG autoantibodies to aquaporin 4 (AQP4), the most abundant water-channel protein in the central nervous system. In a subset of patients negative for AQP4-IgG, pathogenetic serum IgG antibodies to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein, an antigen in the outer myelin sheath of central nervous system neurons, are present. Other causes of NMO (such as paraneoplastic disorders and neurosarcoidosis) are rare. NMO was previously associated with a poor prognosis; however, treatment with steroids and plasma exchange for acute attacks and with immunosuppressants (in particular, B cell-depleting agents) for attack prevention has greatly improved the long-term outcomes. Recently, a number of randomized controlled trials have been completed and the first drugs, all therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, have been approved for the treatment of AQP4-IgG-positive NMO and its formes frustes.

Differences in Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging in MOG-IgG and AQP4-IgG Seropositive Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders: A Comparative Study

Aims: To explore differences in advanced brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics between myelin oligodendrocyte (MOG) immunoglobulin (IgG) and aquaporin-4 (AQP4) IgG seropositive (+) neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD).

Methods: 33 AQP4-IgG and 18 MOG-IgG seropositive NMOSD patients and 61 healthy control (HC) subjects were included. All 112 participants were scanned with the same standardized MRI-protocol on a 3-Tesla MRI-scanner. Brain volume and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters were assessed.

Results: MOG-IgG+ patients showed reduced parallel diffusivity within white matter tracts compared to HC whereas AQP4-IgG+ showed no significant brain parenchymal damage in DTI analysis. AQP4-IgG+ patients showed reduced whole brain volumes and reduced volumes of several deep gray matter structures compared to HC whereas MOG-IgG+ patients did not show reduced brain or deep gray matter volumes compared to HC.

Conclusions: Microstructural brain parenchymal damage in MOG-IgG+ patients was more pronounced than in AQP4-IgG+ patients, compared with HC, whereas normalized brain volume reduction was more severe in AQP4-IgG+ patients. Longitudinal imaging studies are warranted to further investigate this trend in NMOSD. Our results suggest that MOG-IgG+ and AQP4-IgG+ NMOSD patients differ in cerebral MRI characteristics. Advanced MRI analysis did not help to differentiate between MOG-IgG+ and AQP4-IgG+ patients in our study.

Visualizing the Central Nervous System: Imaging Tools for Multiple Sclerosis and Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders

Multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) are autoimmune central nervous system conditions with increasing incidence and prevalence. While MS is the most frequent inflammatory CNS disorder in young adults, NMOSD is a rare disease, that is pathogenetically distinct from MS, and accounts for approximately 1% of demyelinating disorders, with the relative proportion within the demyelinating CNS diseases varying widely among different races and regions. Most immunomodulatory drugs used in MS are inefficacious or even harmful in NMOSD, emphasizing the need for a timely and accurate diagnosis and distinction from MS. Despite distinct immunopathology and differences in disease course and severity there might be considerable overlap in clinical and imaging findings, posing a diagnostic challenge for managing neurologists. Differential diagnosis is facilitated by positive serology for AQP4-antibodies (AQP4-ab) in NMOSD, but might be difficult in seronegative cases. Imaging of the brain, optic nerve, retina and spinal cord is of paramount importance when managing patients with autoimmune CNS conditions. Once a diagnosis has been established, imaging techniques are often deployed at regular intervals over the disease course as surrogate measures for disease activity and progression and to surveil treatment effects. While the application of some imaging modalities for monitoring of disease course was established decades ago in MS, the situation is unclear in NMOSD where work on longitudinal imaging findings and their association with clinical disability is scant. Moreover, as long-term disability is mostly attack-related in NMOSD and does not stem from insidious progression as in MS, regular follow-up imaging might not be useful in the absence of clinical events. However, with accumulating evidence for covert tissue alteration in NMOSD and with the advent of approved immunotherapies the role of imaging in the management of NMOSD may be reconsidered. By contrast, MS management still faces the challenge of implementing imaging techniques that are capable of monitoring progressive tissue loss in clinical trials and cohort studies into treatment algorithms for individual patients. This article reviews the current status of imaging research in MS and NMOSD with an emphasis on emerging modalities that have the potential to be implemented in clinical practice.

Differentiate aquaporin-4 antibody negative neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders from multiple sclerosis by multimodal advanced MRI techniques

BACKGROUND

It is clinically essential to distinguish aquaporin-4 antibody (AQP4-Ab) negative neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) and multiple sclerosis (MS) because of different therapeutic strategies. Since clinical and lesion features may not allow the distinction, we aimed to identify advanced imaging features that could improve the distinction between two disorders.

METHODS

Multimodal imaging measures included fractional anisotropy, mean, axial, radial diffusivity (MD, AD, RD) and kurtosis (MK, AK, RK) from diffusion kurtosis imaging; functional connectivity strength (FCS) and density, regional homogeneity, amplitude of low frequency fluctuations from resting-state functional MRI; gray matter volume from structural MRI; and cerebral blood flow from arterial spin labeling imaging. Voxel-wise comparisons were performed to identify inter-group differences in imaging measures, and the performance of differentiating these two disorders was estimated by receiver operating characteristic curves.

RESULTS

Compared to MS, patients with AQP4-Ab negative NMOSD showed decreased MD and AD but increased MK and AK in white matter regions; and reduced FCS in the occipital cortex (P < 0.05, FWE corrected). The joint-use of these five imaging measures distinguished the two disorders with an accuracy of 94% (P < 0.001, 95%CI = 0.84-0.98). Other imaging measures showed no significant differences between the two patient groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The study showed less white matter damage and a more severe functional disconnection of the occipital cortex in patients with AQP4-Ab negative NMOSD compared to MS. The combined use of diffusion and functional connectivity could facilitate a better distinction between NMO and MS with seronegative AQP4-Ab in clinical management.

Suggestions for improving the design of clinical trials in multiple sclerosis-results of a systematic analysis of completed phase III trials

This manuscript reviews the primary and secondary endpoints of pivotal phase III trials with immunomodulatory drugs in multiple sclerosis (MS). Considering the limitations of previous trial designs, we propose new standards for the planning of clinical trials, taking into account latest insights into MS pathophysiology and patient-relevant aspects. Using a systematic overview of published phase III (pivotal) trials performed as part of application for drug market approval, we evaluate the following characteristics: trial duration, number of trial participants, comparators, and endpoints (primary, secondary, magnetic resonance imaging outcome, and patient-reported outcomes). From a patient perspective, the primary and secondary endpoints of clinical trials are only partially relevant. High-quality trial data pertaining to efficacy and safety that stretch beyond the time frame of pivotal trials are almost non-existent. Understanding of long-term benefits and risks of disease-modifying MS therapy is largely lacking. Concrete proposals for the trial designs of relapsing (remitting) multiple sclerosis/clinically isolated syndrome, primary progressive multiple sclerosis, and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (e.g., study duration, mechanism of action, and choice of endpoints) are presented based on the results of the systematic overview. Given the increasing number of available immunotherapies, the therapeutic strategy in MS has shifted from a mere "relapse-prevention" approach to a personalized provision of medical care as to the choice of the appropriate drugs and their sequential application over the course of the disease. This personalized provision takes patient preferences as well as disease-related factors into consideration such as objective clinical and radiographic findings but also very burdensome symptoms such as fatigue, depression, and cognitive impairment. Future trial designs in MS will have to assign higher relevance to these patient-reported outcomes and will also have to implement surrogate measures that can serve as predictive markers for individual treatment response to new and investigational immunotherapies. This is an indispensable prerequisite to maximize the benefit of individual patients when participating in clinical trials. Moreover, such appropriate trial designs and suitable enrolment criteria that correspond to the mode of action of the study drug will facilitate targeted prevention of adverse events, thus mitigating risks for individual study participants.

Imaging markers of disability in aquaporin-4 immunoglobulin G seropositive neuromyelitis optica: a graph theory study

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders lack imaging biomarkers associated with disease course and supporting prognosis. This complex and heterogeneous set of disorders affects many regions of the central nervous system, including the spinal cord and visual pathway. Here, we use graph theory-based multimodal network analysis to investigate hypothesis-free mixed networks and associations between clinical disease with neuroimaging markers in 40 aquaporin-4-immunoglobulin G antibody seropositive patients (age = 48.16 ± 14.3 years, female:male = 36:4) and 31 healthy controls (age = 45.92 ± 13.3 years, female:male = 24:7). Magnetic resonance imaging measures included total brain and deep grey matter volumes, cortical thickness and spinal cord atrophy. Optical coherence tomography measures of the retina and clinical measures comprised of clinical attack types and expanded disability status scale were also utilized. For multimodal network analysis, all measures were introduced as nodes and tested for directed connectivity from clinical attack types and disease duration to systematic imaging and clinical disability measures. Analysis of variance, with group interactions, gave weights and significance for each nodal association (hyperedges). Connectivity matrices from 80% and 95% F-distribution networks were analyzed and revealed the number of combined attack types and disease duration as the most connected nodes, directly affecting changes in several regions of the central nervous system. Subsequent multivariable regression models, including interaction effects with clinical parameters, identified associations between decreased nucleus accumbens (β = −0.85, P = 0.021) and caudate nucleus (β = −0.61, P = 0.011) volumes with higher combined attack type count and longer disease duration, respectively. We also confirmed previously reported associations between spinal cord atrophy with increased number of clinical myelitis attacks. Age was the most important factor associated with normalized brain volume, pallidum volume, cortical thickness and the expanded disability status scale score. The identified imaging biomarker candidates warrant further investigation in larger-scale studies. Graph theory-based multimodal networks allow for connectivity and interaction analysis, where this method may be applied in other complex heterogeneous disease investigations with different outcome measures.