A specific pattern of cerebellar lesions involving the middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP), rather than the total cerebellar white matter lesion (CWML) load, contributes to cognitive dysfunction in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a recent study found. Cerebellar lesion profiles, therefore, may provide a biomarker of current or evolving risk for cognitive status change in RRMS. High-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was acquired on 16 cognitively impaired (CI) and 15 cognitively preserved (CP) RRMS subjects at 3T and used for lesion identification and voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM). Researchers found:

• CI RRMS demonstrated a predilection for the MCP.
• VLSM results indicate that lesions of the MCP are significantly associated with CI in RRMS.
• Measures of cerebellar lesion load were correlated with age at disease onset but not disease duration.