Abstract Details

Title Brain-predicted Age Gap and Brain Volume Differences in Multiple Sclerosis: A Cross-sectional Study

Topic Multiple Sclerosis

Presentation(s) P8 - Poster Session 8 (11:45 AM-12:45 PM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 19-010

Objective The aim of this study is to investigate brain-predicted age, brain-predicted age gap (the difference between brain-predicted age and chronological age), and brain tissue volume changes in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients compared to healthy controls (HCs) to better understand and characterize the neurodegenerative burden of the disease.

Background MS is a chronic autoimmune disease with neuroinflammation, demyelination, and neurodegeneration, leading to brain atrophy and cognitive impairment. Recent advances in neuroimaging have enabled the use of brain-predicted age, the difference between predicted and chronological age, as a biomarker to estimate brain aging. It has been linked to neurodegeneration but remains underexplored in MS.

Design/Methods

This cross-sectional study included 33 HCs and 109 MS patients. Whole-brain MRI was performed using a SIEMENS 3T Verio system. Raw 3D T1-weighted images were processed with brainageR (v2.1) to estimate normalized tissue volumes and brain-predicted age using Gaussian process regression. Statistical analyses were performed in SPSS v29 to investigate the group differences using independent sample t-test and chi-square test (p<0.05).

Results No significant differences were observed in chronological age (35.46 ± 13.08 vs. 38.65 ± 8.51 years, p=0.194) or gender (60.61% vs. 66.06% females, p=0.566) between groups. Compared to HCs, MS patients had significantly older brain-predicted age (52.69 ± 12.54 vs. 35.00 ± 12.40 years, p<0.001) and larger age gap (14.04 ± 12.14 vs. -0.45 ± 4.45 years, p<0.001). MS patients also showed lower gray matter volume (617.90 ± 72.06 ml vs. 694.93 ± 75.81 ml, p<0.001), lower white matter volume (443.40 ± 54.50 ml vs. 472.66 ± 59.81 ml, p=0.009), and higher CSF volume (307.66 ± 115.35 ml vs. 247.00 ± 48.91 ml, p<0.001).

Conclusions MS patients exhibit accelerated brain aging with a larger brain-predicted age gap, reduced GM and WM, and increased CSF. Brain-predicted age and volumetric changes may serve as biomarkers of neurodegeneration in MS.

Authors/Disclosures
Nidhi M. Patel PRESENTER	Miss Patel has nothing to disclose.
Fen Bao	Fen Bao has nothing to disclose.
Anas Z. Nourelden, MD	Dr. Nourelden has nothing to disclose.
Vivian Truong, BS	Miss Truong has nothing to disclose.
Abigail Biddix, BS	Mrs. Biddix has nothing to disclose.
Mawadda Abdelhai, MD	Miss Abdelhai has nothing to disclose.
Basil B. Memon, Undergraduate NeuroScience	The institution of Mr. Memon has received research support from NIH . The institution of Mr. Memon has received research support from Genentech . The institution of Mr. Memon has received research support from TG Therapeutics. Mr. Memon has received personal compensation in the range of $0-$499 for serving as a Consultant with Consultation for Inlightened and Connected Research.
ZL Liaquat (Wayne State University)	ZL Liaquat has nothing to disclose.
Carla E. Santiago-Martinez (Wayne State University)	Ms. Santiago-Martinez has nothing to disclose.
Yongsheng Chen, PhD (Wayne State University)	Dr. Chen has nothing to disclose.
Anza B. Memon, MD, FAAN (Wayne State University, SOM, Detroit, MI)	Dr. Memon has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Inlightened. Dr. Memon has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Connected Research. Dr. Memon has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Horizon Therapeutic . The institution of Dr. Memon has received research support from Genentech. The institution of Dr. Memon has received research support from TG Therapeutics.

��ɫ��

��ɫ��