CLINICAL CORRELATIONS BETWEEN AUDITORY BRAIN STEM RESPONSE AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING IN PATIENTS WITH DEFINITE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

In an attempt to assess objectively the integrity of the auditory pathways in 30 patients with definite multiple sclerosis (MS), an audiometric evaluation was performed and auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) were obtained. Stressing the auditory system by increasing the stimulation rate showed some enhancement in the identification of MS. 24 (RO%) patients had an abnormal ABR along with clinical signs of brainstem dysfunction at the time of assessment by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), while those without such signs had no incidence of abnormalities. This is independent of the clinical classification of the patients.