Cognitive Impairment Biomarkers in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation

Description

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, immune-mediated, inflammatory, and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system. Cognitive impairment is found in about half of MS patients. The Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) is a sensitive measure of impaired cognition in people with MS and serum neurofilament light chain (sNFL) is a biomarker of neuronal damage. . In our study, we analyzed 20 participants with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). All patients underwent 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), sNFL, SDMT, and EDSS (Expanded Disability Status Scale). In the MRI brain volume and the quantitative measures of several structures were determined by using Freesurfer 7.2 software. Serum NFL concentration was detected by Single molecule array (Simoa) technology. The diagnosis of MS was made by McDonald’s criteria (2017), the neurological examination was based on the EDSS, and cognitive impairment was detected by SDMT. . In total there were 20 RRMS patients, 11 female, and 9 men. Average age 35.2 [25; 48] years, EDSS 2.00 [1.0; 5], sNFL 5.95 ng/L [2.6 ng/L; 21.3 ng/L], and SDMT 83.1 [74.4; 89.1]. We did not find correlation between sNFL and SDMT or EDSS. Likewise, we did not find correlation between SDMT and EDSS but there was tendency to negative relationship (p=0.06). We did not find correlation between sNFL and tested part of brain volume. But we found tendency to positive correlation between SDMT and left thalamus (p=0.062), left amygdala (p=0.06), and subcortical gray matter volume (p=0.06). Positive, medium, and statistically significant correlation was found between SDMT and left globus pallidum (p=0.01), right thalamus (p=0.013), and right globus pallidum (p=0.012). . Our study found that there are few brain atrophy measurements that are associated with cognitive impairment in MS patients. But more research is needed with a larger cohort to determine good combination of biomarkers to detect cognitive impairment in RRMS patients.
Period29 Mar 2023
Event titleRSU International Research Conference 2023: Knowledge for Use in Practice
Event typeConference
OrganiserRīga Stradiņš University
LocationRiga, LatviaShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational

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