For 5 years, patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) showed significant cross-sectional area decrease of all major neck vessels, regardless of the disease course and cardiovascular status, a recent study found. 69 patients with MS and 22 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were examined twice, 5 years apart, on a 3T MR imaging scanner using 2D neck MR angiography. Cross-sectional areas were computed for the common carotid/internal carotid arteries, vertebral arteries, and internal jugular veins for all slices between the C3 and C7 cervical levels. Longitudinal cross-sectional area differences at each cervical level and the whole-vessel course were tested within study groups and between patients with MS with and without cardiovascular disease. Researchers found:

• No significant cross-sectional area differences were seen between patients with MS and healthy controls at baseline or at follow-up.
• During the follow-up, significant cross-sectional area decrease was found in patients with MS for the common carotid artery–ICAs, for vertebral arteries, and for the internal jugular veins.

Patients with MS without cardiovascular disease had significantly greater change than patients with MS with cardiovascular disease for internal jugular veins at all levels