Abstract Details

Title Hippocampal Regional Abnormalities Contribute to Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis

Topic Aging, Dementia, and Behavioral Neurology

Presentation(s) P1 - Poster Session 1 (9:00 AM-5:00 PM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 065

Objective

To investigate the association between hippocampal damage and cognitive performance in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Background Hippocampal atrophy plays a crucial role in MS cognition, with specific subfields involved in different neuropsychological tasks. However, less is known about measures of microstructural damage, which could provide further insights on mechanisms of cognitive deficits.

Design/Methods Fifty healthy controls (HC) and 117 MS patients underwent 3.0 T MRI and cognitive evaluation with the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological tests. Global and subregional hippocampal volumes were assessed with the cross-sectional pipeline of the Freesurfer 6.0. Measures of microstructural integrity were obtained using diffusion tensor imaging (i.e, fractional anisotropy [FA], mean diffusivity [MD]) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI, i.e., neurite density index, orientation dispersion index [ODI]). Age- and sex-adjusted linear models were used for between-group comparisons, while hierarchical linear regression analysis was run to identify predictors of cognitive performance among clinical and MRI variables.

Results

MS patients had atrophy of the left hippocampus and fimbria (p<0.001). The hippocampus of patients was characterized by reduced FA and increased MD and ODI compared to HC (p<0.001). Higher FA and lower MD of the fimbria were significant predictors of better performance at Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test 3” (ΔR²=0.046; p=0.019) and Symbol Digit Modalities Test/Word List Generation (ΔR²≥0.089; p≤0.003), respectively. ODI of the dentate gyrus contributed to a significant proportion of variance of Spatial Recall Test (ΔR²=0.029; p=0.048), while lower MD of the Cornus Ammonis-1 predicted a better performance at Selective Reminding Test (consistent long term retrieval , ΔR²=0.070; p=0.003).

Conclusions

These results highlight the role of hippocampal microstructural alterations in MS cognitive dysfunction. The integrity of the fimbria appears to be a critical anatomical correlate of information processing speed in MS.

Authors/Disclosures
Laura Cacciaguerra, MD, PhD (Mayo Clinic) PRESENTER	Dr. Cacciaguerra has nothing to disclose.
Damiano Mistri, MSC (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele)	Mr. Mistri has nothing to disclose.
Elisabetta Pagani	Elisabetta Pagani has nothing to disclose.
Paola Valsasina	Paola Valsasina has nothing to disclose.
Alessandro Meani	Alessandro Meani has nothing to disclose.
Federica Esposito	Federica Esposito has received personal compensation in the range of $0-$499 for serving as a Consultant for Merck. Federica Esposito has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Novartis. Federica Esposito has received personal compensation in the range of $0-$499 for serving as a Consultant for Novartis. Federica Esposito has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Novartis. Federica Esposito has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Merck. The institution of Federica Esposito has received research support from Italian MS Society. The institution of Federica Esposito has received research support from Italian Ministry of Health. The institution of Federica Esposito has received research support from ERA Net. The institution of Federica Esposito has received research support from European Commission. Federica Esposito has received intellectual property interests from a discovery or technology relating to health care.
Massimo Filippi, MD, FAAN (Ospedale San Raffaele, Neuroimaging Research Unit)	Dr. Filippi has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving as a Consultant for Alexion, Almirall, Biogen, Merck, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi. Dr. Filippi has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Alexion, Biogen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi, Sanofi-Aventis, Sanofi-Genzyme, Takeda. Dr. Filippi has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Speakers Bureau for Bayer, Biogen, Celgene, Chiesi Italia SpA, Eli Lilly, Genzyme, Janssen, Merck-Serono, Neopharmed Gentili, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Roche, Sanofi, Takeda, and TEVA. Dr. Filippi has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as an Editor, Associate Editor, or Editorial Advisory Board Member for Springer Nature. The institution of Dr. Filippi has received research support from Biogen Idec, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Roche, the Italian Ministry of Health, the Italian Ministry of University and Research, and Fondazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla.
Maria A. Rocca (Neuroimaging Research Unit)	Maria Assunta Rocca has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Roche. Maria Assunta Rocca has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Speakers Bureau for AstraZaneca, Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Bromatech, Celgene, Genzyme, Horizon Therapeutics Italy, Merck Serono SpA, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi and Teva. The institution of Maria Assunta Rocca has received research support from MS Society of Canada, the Italian Ministry of Health, the Italian Ministry of University and Research, and Fondazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla.

��ɫ��

��ɫ��