Comparison of 1.5T vs. 3T Protocols After Treatment With Glatiramer Acetate (GA)

Interferon-β (IFN- β) and glatiramer acetate (GA) are the two main groups of drugs used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). Notably, while both ultimately decrease central nervous system (CNS) inflammation, they do so by very different mechanisms. Therefore, use of 1.5T MRI, triple dose of Gd, delay of scanning time for 20-30 min after Gd injection, and application of off-resonance saturated MT pulse may increase the ability to detect Gd lesions by approximately 120% when compared to 1.5T single dose MRI protocol. The 3T standard protocol may increase the ability to detect Gd enhancing lesions by 40-50% when compared to the 1.5T standard protocol. This may indicate that the 3T optimized protocol may increase the ability for Gd lesion detection by approximately 150-180%, when compared to the 1.5T standard protocol.