Purpose: We investigated sensations experienced by a large number of subjects during magnetic resonance (MR) imaging examinations using a 7-tesla scanner and slow tablefeed speed.Methods: After examinations at 7T, 504 of 508 consecutive subjects completed questionnaires using an 11-point scale to rate 14 potential sensations and symptoms during table movement and stationary positioning of the table. We compared scores among the sensations and between table conditions and the mean values of the scores with those reported in previous studies and examined correlations between the scores and subject characteristics.Results: Vertigo and feelings of curving or leaning in the right or left direction during table movement were experienced frequently and markedly compared to other sensations and sensations experienced when the table was stationary (P < 0.01) and were correlated with subject age and examination time (P < 0.05). However, moderate to severe (scores of 5 to 10) vertigo and a curving/leaning feeling during table movement were noted in only 10.5% (vertigo) and 10.9% (curving/leaning) of subjects, and the mean vertigo score, 1.26, appeared to be substantially lower than that reported in a previous study. Reports of a metallic taste, nausea, and light flashes were significantly rarer and weaker than other sensations (P < 0.05).Conclusion: Vertigo and feelings of curving during table movement were the most frequent sensations reported during MR imaging examination at 7T. However, the occurrence and severity were low and mild, presumably because of the slow table-feed speed, which suggests that most patients and volunteers found discomfort at 7T acceptable.

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We aimed to compare longitudinal brain atrophy in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) with healthy controls (HCs). The atrophy rate in patients with anti-aquaporin-4 antibody-positive NMOSD (AQP4 + NMOSD) was compared with age-sex-matched HCs recruited from the Japanese Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative study and another study performed at Chiba University. Twenty-nine patients with AQP4 + NMOSD and 29 HCs were enrolled in the study. The time between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans was longer in the AQP4 + NMOSD group compared with the HCs (median; 3.2 vs. 2.9 years, P = 0.009). The annualized normalized white matter volume (NWV) atrophy rate was higher in the AQP4 + NMOSD group compared with the HCs (median; 0.37 vs. − 0.14, P = 0.018). The maximum spinal cord lesion length negatively correlated with NWV at baseline MRI in patients with AQP4 + NMOSD (Spearman’s rho =  − 0.41, P = 0.027). The annualized NWV atrophy rate negatively correlated with the time between initiation of persistent prednisolone usage and baseline MRI in patients with AQP4 + NMOSD (Spearman’s rho =  − 0.43, P = 0.019). Patients with AQP4 + NMOSD had a greater annualized NWV atrophy rate than HCs. Suppressing disease activity may prevent brain atrophy in patients with AQP4 + NMOSD.