open access
Brain volume loss in multiple sclerosis is independent of disease activity and might be prevented by early disease-modifying therapy
- Second Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, University Hospital Bratislava, Slovakia
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Dr. Magnet Ltd., Bratislava, Slovakia
- Centre of Experimental Medicine, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
open access
Abstract
Introduction. Neurodegeneration is likely to be present from the earliest stages of multiple sclerosis (MS). MS responds poorly to disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) and leads to irreversible brain volume loss (BVL), which is a reliable predictor of future physical and cognitive disability. Our study aimed to discover the relationship between BVL, disease activity, and DMTs in a cohort of patients with MS.
Material and methods. A total of 147 patients fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Relevant demographic and clinical data (age, gender, time of MS onset, time of treatment initiation, DMT characteristics, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), number of relapses in the last two years prior to MRI examination) were correlated with MRI findings.
Results. Patients with progressive MS had significantly lower total brain and grey matter volumes (p = 0.003; p < 0.001), and higher EDSS scores (p < 0.001), compared to relapsing-remitting patients matched by disease duration and age. There was no association between MRI atrophy and MRI activity (c2 = 0.013, p = 0.910). Total EDSS negatively correlated with the whole brain (rs = −0.368, p < 0.001) and grey matter volumes (rs = −0.308, p < 0.001), but was not associated with the number of relapses in the last two years (p = 0.278). Delay in DMT negatively correlated with whole brain (rs = −0.387, p < 0.001) and grey matter volumes (rs = −0.377, p < 0.001). Treatment delay was connected with a higher risk for lower brain volume (b = −3.973, p < 0.001), and also predicted a higher EDSS score (b = 0.067, p < 0.001).
Conclusions. Brain volume loss is a major contributor to disability progression, independent of disease activity. Delay in DMT leads to higher BVL and increased disability. Brain atrophy assessment should be translated into daily clinical practice to monitor disease course and response to DMTs. The assessment of BVL itself should be considered a suitable marker for treatment escalation.
Abstract
Introduction. Neurodegeneration is likely to be present from the earliest stages of multiple sclerosis (MS). MS responds poorly to disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) and leads to irreversible brain volume loss (BVL), which is a reliable predictor of future physical and cognitive disability. Our study aimed to discover the relationship between BVL, disease activity, and DMTs in a cohort of patients with MS.
Material and methods. A total of 147 patients fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Relevant demographic and clinical data (age, gender, time of MS onset, time of treatment initiation, DMT characteristics, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), number of relapses in the last two years prior to MRI examination) were correlated with MRI findings.
Results. Patients with progressive MS had significantly lower total brain and grey matter volumes (p = 0.003; p < 0.001), and higher EDSS scores (p < 0.001), compared to relapsing-remitting patients matched by disease duration and age. There was no association between MRI atrophy and MRI activity (c2 = 0.013, p = 0.910). Total EDSS negatively correlated with the whole brain (rs = −0.368, p < 0.001) and grey matter volumes (rs = −0.308, p < 0.001), but was not associated with the number of relapses in the last two years (p = 0.278). Delay in DMT negatively correlated with whole brain (rs = −0.387, p < 0.001) and grey matter volumes (rs = −0.377, p < 0.001). Treatment delay was connected with a higher risk for lower brain volume (b = −3.973, p < 0.001), and also predicted a higher EDSS score (b = 0.067, p < 0.001).
Conclusions. Brain volume loss is a major contributor to disability progression, independent of disease activity. Delay in DMT leads to higher BVL and increased disability. Brain atrophy assessment should be translated into daily clinical practice to monitor disease course and response to DMTs. The assessment of BVL itself should be considered a suitable marker for treatment escalation.
Keywords
multiple sclerosis, brain volume loss, atrophy, neurodegeneration, disability
Title
Brain volume loss in multiple sclerosis is independent of disease activity and might be prevented by early disease-modifying therapy
Journal
Neurologia i Neurochirurgia Polska
Issue
Article type
Research Paper
Pages
282-288
Published online
2023-05-05
Page views
2263
Article views/downloads
636
DOI
Pubmed
Bibliographic record
Neurol Neurochir Pol 2023;57(3):282-288.
Keywords
multiple sclerosis
brain volume loss
atrophy
neurodegeneration
disability
Authors
Darina Slezáková
Pavol Kadlic
Michaela Jezberová
Veronika Boleková
Peter Valkovič
Michal Minar
- Kalinowska-Łyszczarz A, Guo Y, Lucchinetti CF. Update on pathology of central nervous system inflammatory demyelinating diseases. Neurol Neurochir Pol. 2022; 56(3): 201–209.
- Kalinowska-Łyszczarz A. Multiple sclerosis and related disorders: where do we stand in 2022? Neurol Neurochir Pol. 2022; 56(3): 197–200.
- Dutta R, Trapp BD. Mechanisms of neuronal dysfunction and degeneration in multiple sclerosis. Prog Neurobiol. 2011; 93(1): 1–12.
- Yong HYF, Yong VW. Mechanism-based criteria to improve therapeutic outcomes in progressive multiple sclerosis. Nat Rev Neurol. 2022; 18(1): 40–55.
- Sorensen PS, Sellebjerg F, Hartung HP, et al. The apparently milder course of multiple sclerosis: changes in the diagnostic criteria, therapy and natural history. Brain. 2020; 143(9): 2637–2652.
- Lublin FD, Coetzee T, Cohen JA, et al. International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in MS. The 2013 clinical course descriptors for multiple sclerosis: A clarification. Neurology. 2020; 94(24): 1088–1092.
- Riley C, Azevedo C, Bailey M, et al. Clinical applications of imaging disease burden in multiple sclerosis: MRI and advanced imaging techniques. Expert Rev Neurother. 2012; 12(3): 323–333.
- Rocca MA, Comi G, Filippi M. The Role of T1-Weighted Derived Measures of Neurodegeneration for Assessing Disability Progression in Multiple Sclerosis. Front Neurol. 2017; 8: 433.
- Fisniku LK, Chard DT, Jackson JS, et al. Gray matter atrophy is related to long-term disability in multiple sclerosis. Ann Neurol. 2008; 64(3): 247–254.
- Roosendaal SD, Bendfeldt K, Vrenken H, et al. Grey matter volume in a large cohort of MS patients: relation to MRI parameters and disability. Mult Scler. 2011; 17(9): 1098–1106.
- Ghione E, Bergsland N, Dwyer MG, et al. Aging and Brain Atrophy in Multiple Sclerosis. J Neuroimaging. 2019; 29(4): 527–535.
- Rocca MA, Valsasina P, Meani A, et al. MAGNIMS Study Group. Association of Gray Matter Atrophy Patterns With Clinical Phenotype and Progression in Multiple Sclerosis. Neurology. 2021; 96(11): e1561–e1573.
- Radue EW, Barkhof F, Kappos L, et al. Correlation between brain volume loss and clinical and MRI outcomes in multiple sclerosis. Neurology. 2015; 84(8): 784–793.
- Rotstein DL, Healy BC, Malik MT, et al. Evaluation of no evidence of disease activity in a 7-year longitudinal multiple sclerosis cohort. JAMA Neurol. 2015; 72(2): 152–158.
- Szilasiová J, Mikula P, Rosenberger J, et al. Plasma neurofilament light chain levels are predictors of disease activity in multiple sclerosis as measured by four-domain NEDA status, including brain volume loss. Mult Scler. 2021; 27(13): 2023–2030.
- Kappos L, De Stefano N, Freedman MS, et al. Inclusion of brain volume loss in a revised measure of 'no evidence of disease activity' (NEDA-4) in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler. 2016; 22(10): 1297–1305.
- Kadlic P, Belan V, Jezberová M, et al. Brain volume loss v našej klinickej praxi. Neurológia. ; 2021: 15–15.
- Cohen J. Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. 2013.
- Faul F, Erdfelder E, Lang AG, et al. G*Power 3: a flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behav Res Methods. 2007; 39(2): 175–191.
- Juryńczyk M, Jakuszyk P, Kurkowska-Jastrzębska I, et al. Increasing role of imaging in differentiating MS from non-MS and defining indeterminate borderline cases. Neurol Neurochir Pol. 2022; 56(3): 210–219.
- Rojas JI, Patrucco L, Miguez J, et al. Brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis: therapeutic, cognitive and clinical impact. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2016; 74(3): 235–243.
- Skirková M, Mikula P, Maretta M, et al. Associations of optical coherence tomography with disability and brain MRI volumetry in patients with multiple sclerosis. Neurol Neurochir Pol. 2022; 56(4): 326–332.
- Sormani MP, Bruzzi P. MRI lesions as a surrogate for relapses in multiple sclerosis: a meta-analysis of randomised trials. Lancet Neurol. 2013; 12(7): 669–676.
- Sormani MP, Stubinski B, Cornelisse P, et al. Magnetic resonance active lesions as individual-level surrogate for relapses in multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler. 2011; 17(5): 541–549.
- Filippi M, Rocca MA, Barkhof F, et al. Attendees of the Correlation between Pathological MRI findings in MS workshop. Association between pathological and MRI findings in multiple sclerosis. Lancet Neurol. 2012; 11(4): 349–360.
- Charil A, Dagher A, Lerch JP, et al. Focal cortical atrophy in multiple sclerosis: relation to lesion load and disability. Neuroimage. 2007; 34(2): 509–517.
- Uher T, Krasensky J, Malpas C, et al. Evolution of Brain Volume Loss Rates in Early Stages of Multiple Sclerosis. Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm. 2021; 8(3).
- Giovannoni G, Cutter G, Sormani MP, et al. Is multiple sclerosis a length-dependent central axonopathy? The case for therapeutic lag and the asynchronous progressive MS hypotheses. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2017; 12: 70–78.
- Coles AJ, Cox A, Le Page E, et al. The window of therapeutic opportunity in multiple sclerosis: evidence from monoclonal antibody therapy. J Neurol. 2006; 253(1): 98–108.
- Zivadinov R, Reder AT, Filippi M, et al. Mechanisms of action of disease-modifying agents and brain volume changes in multiple sclerosis. Neurology. 2008; 71(2): 136–144.
- De Stefano N, Matthews PM, Filippi M, et al. Evidence of early cortical atrophy in MS: relevance to white matter changes and disability. Neurology. 2003; 60(7): 1157–1162.
- Furby J, Hayton T, Altmann D, et al. Different white matter lesion characteristics correlate with distinct grey matter abnormalities on magnetic resonance imaging in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler. 2009; 15(6): 687–694.
- Filippi P, Vestenická V, Siarnik P, et al. Neurofilament light chain and MRI volume parameters as markers of neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2020; 41(1): 17–26.