Prospective Cohort Study of Clinical and Imaging Patterns of Neuroinflammation Diseases (CLUE)

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying patients with neuroinflammatory and demyelination diseases such as neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSDs), multiple sclerosis (MS), and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD). This observational study aims to understand structural and functional changes in the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerve, as well as the inflammatory environment, using advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies. The study evaluates how these changes relate to disease activity and long-term disability. Participants will undergo various MRI scans including double inversion recovery (DIR), diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI), quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), and resting-state functional imaging using 3T MRI, along with T1WI, T2WI, FLAIR, and SWI sequences using 7T MRI. Scans will be done at the acute stage and during follow-ups at 1 month, 6 months, and 1 year. While the study does not restrict treatment methods, many patients receive high-dose intravenous steroid therapy during the acute stage and immunomodulatory therapies like Azathioprine, Mycophenolate Mofetil, or Rituximab during remission. Participants will be monitored through these scheduled MRI scans and clinical assessments including the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), Timed 25-foot Walk, and visual acuity tests. Researchers will measure brain and spinal cord structural changes and functional changes over time from baseline through follow-up visits. The study involves healthy individuals as controls and spans a follow-up period of one year, allowing detailed observation of disease progression and treatment effects in this group of patients.

Clinical and Imaging Cohort of Neuroinflammation Diseases in China (CLUE)