Cortical diffusion and thalamic volume can serve as predictive biomarkers of walking and cognitive impairment in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to study results published in the Journal of Neurology.
The study included 67 patients with RRMS from a randomized study examining the effects of long-term exercise on brain atrophy in patients with multiple sclerosis. Patients were subjected to a short repeatable series of neuropsychological tests (BRB-N), the 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and the 6-point step test (SSST).
Study participants also underwent magnetic resonance imaging with structural and diffusion curative imaging (DKI) protocols. The study researchers analyzed gray matter (GM) volume metrics and DKI measurements in the cortex, as well as deep GM structures.
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Higher cortical mean diffusivity (MD) was associated with poor performance on SSST. The significant positive association between cortical MD and SSST was observed both unilaterally in the occipital gyrus and bilaterally in the parietal lobe, precuneus, cingulate gyrus, cuneus, superior and middle frontal gyrus.
The study researchers also found a negative correlation between MD and 6MWT unilaterally in the lower parietal lobule, in the postcentral gyrus and in the lower frontal sulcus, and bilaterally in the upper and middle frontal gyrus. The decreased thalamic volume correlated with a longer time to complete the SSST.
Overall, the thalamic volume correlated with the SSST (r2 = 0.21), 6 MWT (r2 = 0.18), information processing (r2 = 0.21), and white matter lesion volume (r2 = 0.60).
The limitations of the study included the small sample size and the lack of a suitable healthy control group.
The study’s researchers concluded that their results “suggest that cortical DKI and thalamic volume may serve as biomarkers of walking and cognitive impairment in patients with RRMS.”
Disclosure: One study author declared his affiliation with the pharmaceutical industry. For a full list of the authors’ information, see the original reference.
reference
Nygaard MKE, Langeskov-Christensen M, Dalgas U, Eskildsen SF. Imaging of cortical diffusion curosis and thalamic volume are associated with cognitive performance and walking performance in recurrent multiple sclerosis. J Neurol. Published online April 7, 2021. doi: 10.1007 / s00415-021-10543-4
