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. 2020 Mar;30(2):205-211.
doi: 10.1111/jon.12679. Epub 2019 Nov 24.

Myelin Damage in Normal Appearing White Matter Contributes to Impaired Cognitive Processing Speed in Multiple Sclerosis

Shawna Abel  1 , Irene Vavasour  2 , Lisa Eunyoung Lee  1 , Poljanka Johnson  1 , Nathalie Ackermans  1 , Jillian Chan  1 , Adam Dvorak  3 , Alice Schabas  1 , Vanessa Wiggermann  4 , Roger Tam  2 , Annie J Kuan  5 , Sarah A Morrow  6 , Jeffrey Wilken  7 , Cornelia Laule  8 , Alexander Rauscher  1 , Virender Bhan  1 , Ana-Luiza Sayao  1 , Virginia Devonshire  1 , David Kb Li  9 , Robert Carruthers  1 , Anthony Traboulsee  1 , Shannon H Kolind  10
Affiliations

Myelin Damage in Normal Appearing White Matter Contributes to Impaired Cognitive Processing Speed in Multiple Sclerosis

Shawna Abel et al. J Neuroimaging. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Background and purpose: Cognitive impairment is a core symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS). Damage to normal appearing white matter (NAWM) is likely involved. We sought to determine if greater myelin heterogeneity in NAWM is associated with decreased cognitive performance in MS.

Methods: A total of 27 participants with MS and 13 controls matched for age, sex, and education underwent myelin water imaging (MWI) from which the myelin water fraction (MWF) was calculated. Corpus callosum, superior longitudinal fasciculus, and cingulum were chosen as regions of interest (ROIs) a priori based on their involvement in MS-related cognitive impairment. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). Pearson ́s product moment correlations were performed to assess relationships between cognitive performance and myelin heterogeneity (variance of MWF within an ROI).

Results: In MS, myelin heterogeneity in all three ROIs was significantly associated with performance on the SDMT. These correlations ranged from moderate (r = -.561) to moderately strong (r = -.654) and were highly significant (P values ranged from .001 to .0002). Conversely, myelin heterogeneity was not associated with SDMT performance in controls in any ROI (P > .108).

Conclusion: Increased myelin heterogeneity in NAWM is associated with decreased cognitive processing speed performance in MS.

Keywords: Multiple sclerosis; cognitive impairment; normal appearing white matter.

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References

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