A preliminary study of NODDI in detecting cortical microstructure injury in Children with MOGAD

Motivation: Demyelinating diseases primarily focus on WM microstructures, while GM alterations, especially in pediatric patients with MOGAD, remain underexplored. Goal(s): This study aims to investigate cortical GM microstructure damage in MOGAD patients using the NODDI model. Approach: We applied GBSS analysis to compare NODDI metrics between 31 MOGAD patients and 29 controls, and assessed correlations with clinical scores. Results: Our study revealed GM microstructural impairment in pediatric MOGAD patients. Increased ODI in the MOGAD group was linked to cognitive deficits, suggesting ODI as a potential biomarker for GM pathology in MOGAD. Impact: Our study demonstrated that ODI is a potential biomarker for GM pathology in pediatric MOGAD. Future research could explore how NODDI metrics predict progression and response to treatment in demyelinating diseases.