Reduced magnetisation transfer ratio in cognitively impaired patients at the very early stage of multiple sclerosis: a prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study

After the first MS-related clinical event, 55.3% of patients showed distinct cognitive deficits. Cognitively impaired patients had significantly lower whole brain MTR, but no differences in focal brain lesion volumes supporting the idea that early cognitive deficits may be related to diffuse loss of brain tissue integrity.