Contributions
Abstract: P528
Type: Poster Sessions
Abstract Category: Pathology and pathogenesis of MS - Neuropsychology
Introduction: A high prevalence of cognitive deficit in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients has been widely described, however the mainly involved cerebral areas are still debated. The aim of our study was to correlate the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS) neuropsychological assessment with the MRI volume measurements in MS patients without self-reported cognitive deficits.
Patients and methods: A cohort of 45 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients, without self-reported cognitive deficits, underwent the BICAMS. Cognitive impairment was defined as a failure in at least 1 test out of 3. Demographic and clinical data, neuroimaging data at diagnosis and last follow-up (normalized volumes of total brain, gray matter, white matter, peripheral cortex and subcortical structures, computed by SIENAX and FIRST softwares from 2D T1-weighted MRI sequences), were compared between cognitive impaired (CI) and cognitive preserved (CP) patients. Pearson correlation was applied between neuroimaging and neuropsychological variables; finally, a multivariate model was applied to confirm the univariate analysis.
Results: In our cohort, 15/45 patients were CI (11/15 in Brief Visual Memory Test - BVMT, 3/15 in Symbol Digit Modalities Test - SDMT, and 1/15 in California Verbal Learning Test-II - CVLT-II). CI and CP patients did not differ in terms of clinical variables. A positive correlation between SDMT score and both age onset (r=0,295, p=0,05) and disease duration (r=0,307, p=0,04) was observed. Compared to CP patients, CI patients showed a significantly bilateral lower volume of putamen both at diagnosis (L putamen: 5158.15±550.51 vs 5851.67±1215,84, p=0.043; R putamen: 5003.31±892.97 vs 5829.72±1235.57, p=0.049) and at last follow-up (L putamen: 5184.29±913.74 vs 5988.94±1260.43 p=0.020; R putamen: 5081.81±1102.98 vs 5997.72±1389.59, p=0.032). Compared to baseline values, only CI patients showed a statistically significant reduction of hippocampal volume, bilaterally (L hippocampus: p=0.019, R hippocampus: p=0.042). Finally, L hippocampal volume correlated with SDMT score, as confirmed in a linear regression model including disease duration and age at onset (p=0.023).
Disclosure: A Sartori has received funding for travel and/or speaker honoraria from Novartis, Teva, Merk, Genzyme, Almirall, Roche. ME Morelli has received funding for travel from Genzyme. S Baldini has received funding from Merk. A Dinoto has received funding for travel from Novartis, Genzyme, Biogen. A Bratina: nothing to disclose.A Bosco has received funding for travel and/or speaker honoraria from Genzyme and Merck. P Manganotti: nothing to disclose
Abstract: P528
Type: Poster Sessions
Abstract Category: Pathology and pathogenesis of MS - Neuropsychology
Introduction: A high prevalence of cognitive deficit in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients has been widely described, however the mainly involved cerebral areas are still debated. The aim of our study was to correlate the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS) neuropsychological assessment with the MRI volume measurements in MS patients without self-reported cognitive deficits.
Patients and methods: A cohort of 45 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients, without self-reported cognitive deficits, underwent the BICAMS. Cognitive impairment was defined as a failure in at least 1 test out of 3. Demographic and clinical data, neuroimaging data at diagnosis and last follow-up (normalized volumes of total brain, gray matter, white matter, peripheral cortex and subcortical structures, computed by SIENAX and FIRST softwares from 2D T1-weighted MRI sequences), were compared between cognitive impaired (CI) and cognitive preserved (CP) patients. Pearson correlation was applied between neuroimaging and neuropsychological variables; finally, a multivariate model was applied to confirm the univariate analysis.
Results: In our cohort, 15/45 patients were CI (11/15 in Brief Visual Memory Test - BVMT, 3/15 in Symbol Digit Modalities Test - SDMT, and 1/15 in California Verbal Learning Test-II - CVLT-II). CI and CP patients did not differ in terms of clinical variables. A positive correlation between SDMT score and both age onset (r=0,295, p=0,05) and disease duration (r=0,307, p=0,04) was observed. Compared to CP patients, CI patients showed a significantly bilateral lower volume of putamen both at diagnosis (L putamen: 5158.15±550.51 vs 5851.67±1215,84, p=0.043; R putamen: 5003.31±892.97 vs 5829.72±1235.57, p=0.049) and at last follow-up (L putamen: 5184.29±913.74 vs 5988.94±1260.43 p=0.020; R putamen: 5081.81±1102.98 vs 5997.72±1389.59, p=0.032). Compared to baseline values, only CI patients showed a statistically significant reduction of hippocampal volume, bilaterally (L hippocampus: p=0.019, R hippocampus: p=0.042). Finally, L hippocampal volume correlated with SDMT score, as confirmed in a linear regression model including disease duration and age at onset (p=0.023).
Disclosure: A Sartori has received funding for travel and/or speaker honoraria from Novartis, Teva, Merk, Genzyme, Almirall, Roche. ME Morelli has received funding for travel from Genzyme. S Baldini has received funding from Merk. A Dinoto has received funding for travel from Novartis, Genzyme, Biogen. A Bratina: nothing to disclose.A Bosco has received funding for travel and/or speaker honoraria from Genzyme and Merck. P Manganotti: nothing to disclose