Progress of magnetic resonance imaging in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal disease with motor neuron disorder. Because the natural processes of ALS are irreversible, early detection and early intervention are of great significance. However, there is lack of objective imaging indicator for the diagnosis of ALS. The current diagnosis of ALS is primarily clinical, which make it difficult for early diagnosis especially when the clinical symptoms are not obvious. As the exponential development of imaging technology, exploration and trials have been conducted continuously in ALS. Therefore, a review is needed to find the possible imaging biologic markers to help ALS diagnosis. This article will comprehensively analyze the application of traditional imaging and the latest imaging technology in ALS, especially the latest chemical exchange saturation transfer research in ALS diagnosis conducted by our team. In addition, the prospects for the development of ALS diagnosis are forecasted.