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Neurofilament and Brain Atrophy and Their Association with Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study

Bhan, Alok; Jacobsen, Cecilie; Dalen, Ingvild; Alves, Guido; Bergsland, Niels; Myhr, Kjell-Morten; Zetterberg, Henrik; ... Farbu, Elisabeth; + view all (2023) Neurofilament and Brain Atrophy and Their Association with Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica , 2023 , Article 7136599. 10.1155/2023/7136599. Green open access

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Abstract

Introduction. Cognitive impairment is an important contributor to disability in multiple sclerosis (MS). Disconnection of neuronal circuits due to axonal injury is probably an important underlying mechanism for this disability. Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a neuron-specific constituent of axons and has gained increasing attention as a biomarker of axonal injury. Objective. To assess the association between NfL in serum (sNfL) and cerebrospinal fluid (cNfL) and cognitive function over 10 years and compare these associations with volumetric brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements. Methods. Newly diagnosed MS patients were followed prospectively with baseline NfL and MRI as well as with clinical and cognitive assessments for up to 10 years. Results. Forty-one patients were included. Baseline sNfL correlated negatively with symbol digit modalities test (SDMT) at baseline (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><mi>r</mi><mo>=</mo><mo>−</mo><mn>0.45</mn></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"><mi>p</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0.005</mn></math>), year 5 (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3"><mi>r</mi><mo>=</mo><mo>−</mo><mn>0.41</mn></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4"><mi>p</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0.017</mn></math>), and at year 10 (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M5"><mi>r</mi><mo>=</mo><mo>−</mo><mn>0.52</mn></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M6"><mi>p</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0.008</mn></math>). Baseline cNfL correlated with baseline SDMT (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M7"><mi>r</mi><mo>=</mo><mo>−</mo><mn>0.34</mn></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M8"><mi>p</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0.030</mn></math>) and SDMT at year 10 (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M9"><mi>r</mi><mo>=</mo><mo>−</mo><mn>0.44</mn></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M10"><mi>p</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0.037</mn></math>). Baseline volumes of whole brain (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M11"><mi>r</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0.476</mn></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M12"><mi>p</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0.002</mn></math>), gray matter (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M13"><mi>r</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0.467</mn></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M14"><mi>p</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0.002</mn></math>), T1 (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M15"><mi>r</mi><mo>=</mo><mo>−</mo><mn>0.627</mn></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M16"><mi>p</mi><mo>&lt;</mo><mn>0.001</mn></math>), and T2 lesion volumes (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M17"><mi>r</mi><mo>=</mo><mo>−</mo><mn>0.475</mn></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M18"><mi>p</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0.002</mn></math>) correlated significantly with baseline SDMT. Longitudinal analyses showed that both MRI volumes and EDSS were associated with the rate of SDMT decline, whereas sNfL and cNfL were not. Conclusion. NfL levels measured in serum and cerebrospinal fluid were both associated with cognitive functioning in MS patients over a 10-year period from diagnosis. However, MRI volumes correlated strongly in addition to the rate of cognitive decline.

Type: Article
Title: Neurofilament and Brain Atrophy and Their Association with Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1155/2023/7136599
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/7136599
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © 2023 Alok Bhan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Neurodegenerative Diseases
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10184626
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