Retinal Damage and Visual Network Reconfiguration Defines Visual Function Recovery in Optic Neuritis.

Background And Objectives: Recovery of vision after acute optic neuritis (AON) is critical to improving the quality of life of people with demyelinating diseases. The objective of the study was to prospectively assess the changes in visual acuity, retinal layer thickness, and cortical visual network in patients with AON to identify the predictors of permanent visual disability.

Methods: We studied a prospective cohort of 88 consecutive patients with AON with 6-month follow-up using high and low-contrast (2.

Multiscale networks in multiple sclerosis.

Complex diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) cover a wide range of biological scales, from genes and proteins to cells and tissues, up to the full organism. In fact, any phenotype for an organism is dictated by the interplay among these scales. We conducted a multilayer network analysis and deep phenotyping with multi-omics data (genomics, phosphoproteomics and cytomics), brain and retinal imaging, and clinical data, obtained from a multicenter prospective cohort of 328 patients and 90 healthy controls.

Predicting disease severity in multiple sclerosis using multimodal data and machine learning.

Background: Multiple sclerosis patients would benefit from machine learning algorithms that integrates clinical, imaging and multimodal biomarkers to define the risk of disease activity.

Methods: We have analysed a prospective multi-centric cohort of 322 MS patients and 98 healthy controls from four MS centres, collecting disability scales at baseline and 2 years later. Imaging data included brain MRI and optical coherence tomography, and omics included genotyping, cytomics and phosphoproteomic data from peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Predictive value of retinal atrophy for cognitive decline across disease duration in multiple sclerosis.

Background: We investigated the association between changes in retinal thickness and cognition in people with MS (PwMS), exploring the predictive value of optical coherence tomography (OCT) markers of neuroaxonal damage for global cognitive decline at different periods of disease.

Method: We quantified the peripapillary retinal nerve fibre (pRFNL) and ganglion cell-inner plexiform (GCIPL) layers thicknesses of 207 PwMS and performed neuropsychological evaluations. The cohort was divided based on disease duration (≤5 years or >5 years).

Enhancing diversity of clinical trial populations in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Demographic characteristics, social determinants of health (SDoH), health inequities, and health disparities substantially influence the general and disease-specific health outcomes of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Participants in clinical trials do not represent all people with MS treated in practice.

Objective: To provide recommendations for enhancing diversity and inclusion in clinical trials in MS.

Diffusion tensor imaging metrics associated with future disability in multiple sclerosis.

The relationship between brain diffusion microstructural changes and disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) remains poorly understood. We aimed to explore the predictive value of microstructural properties in white (WM) and grey matter (GM), and identify areas associated with mid-term disability in MS patients. We studied 185 patients (71% female; 86% RRMS) with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), timed 25-foot walk (T25FW), nine-hole peg test (9HPT), and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) at two time-points.

Treatment of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Transitioning Between Relapsing and Progressive Disease.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system with a wide variety of clinical phenotypes. In spite of the phenotypic classification of MS patients, current data provide evidence that diffuse neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration coexist in all MS forms, the latter gaining increasing clinical relevance in progressive phases. Given that the transition phase of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) to secondary progressive MS (SPMS) is not well defined, and widely accepted criteria for SPMS are lacking, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) specifically designed for the transition phase have not been conducted.

Diagnosis and classification of optic neuritis.

There is no consensus regarding the classification of optic neuritis, and precise diagnostic criteria are not available. This reality means that the diagnosis of disorders that have optic neuritis as the first manifestation can be challenging. Accurate diagnosis of optic neuritis at presentation can facilitate the timely treatment of individuals with multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease.

Normative Data and Conversion Equation for Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography in an International Healthy Control Cohort.

Background: Spectral-domain (SD-) optical coherence tomography (OCT) can reliably measure axonal (peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer [pRNFL]) and neuronal (macular ganglion cell + inner plexiform layer [GCIPL]) thinning in the retina. Measurements from 2 commonly used SD-OCT devices are often pooled together in multiple sclerosis (MS) studies and clinical trials despite software and segmentation algorithm differences; however, individual pRNFL and GCIPL thickness measurements are not interchangeable between devices. In some circumstances, such as in the absence of a consistent OCT segmentation algorithm across platforms, a conversion equation to transform measurements between devices may be useful to facilitate pooling of data.

The Role of Optical Coherence Tomography Criteria and Machine Learning in Multiple Sclerosis and Optic Neuritis Diagnosis.

Background And Objectives: Recent studies have suggested that intereye differences (IEDs) in peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) or ganglion cell + inner plexiform (GCIPL) thickness by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) may identify people with a history of unilateral optic neuritis (ON). However, this requires further validation. Machine learning classification may be useful for validating thresholds for OCT IEDs and for examining added utility for visual function tests, such as low-contrast letter acuity (LCLA), in the diagnosis of people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and for unilateral ON history.

Longitudinal Retinal Changes in MOGAD.

Objective: Patients with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody (MOG-IgG)-associated disease (MOGAD) suffer from severe optic neuritis (ON) leading to retinal neuro-axonal loss, which can be quantified by optical coherence tomography (OCT). We assessed whether ON-independent retinal atrophy can be detected in MOGAD.

Methods: Eighty patients with MOGAD and 139 healthy controls (HCs) were included.

Healthy diet, depression and quality of life: A narrative review of biological mechanisms and primary prevention opportunities.

Unipolar depressive disorder (UDD) affects more than 264 million people worldwide and was projected well before the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic to be the leading cause of disability-adjusted life years lost in 2030. It is imperative for leading economies to implement preventive strategies targeted towards UDD, given consistent policies are currently lacking. Recently established similarities between the aetiological hypotheses of depression and cardiometabolic diseases are shifting paradigms within this field.

Dynamics and Predictors of Cognitive Impairment along the Disease Course in Multiple Sclerosis.

(1) Background: The evolution and predictors of cognitive impairment (CI) in multiple sclerosis (MS) are poorly understood. We aimed to define the temporal dynamics of cognition throughout the disease course and identify clinical and neuroimaging measures that predict CI. (2) Methods: This paper features a longitudinal study with 212 patients who underwent several cognitive examinations at different time points.

Retinal Optical Coherence Tomography in Neuromyelitis Optica.

Background And Objectives: To determine optic nerve and retinal damage in aquaporin-4 antibody (AQP4-IgG)-seropositive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) in a large international cohort after previous studies have been limited by small and heterogeneous cohorts.

Methods: The cross-sectional Collaborative Retrospective Study on retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) in neuromyelitis optica collected retrospective data from 22 centers. Of 653 screened participants, we included 283 AQP4-IgG-seropositive patients with NMOSD and 72 healthy controls (HCs).

Regional grey matter microstructural changes and volume loss according to disease duration in multiple sclerosis patients.

The spatio-temporal characteristics of grey matter (GM) impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) are poorly understood. We used a new surface-based diffusion MRI processing tool to investigate regional modifications of microstructure, and we quantified volume loss in GM in a cohort of patients with MS classified into three groups according to disease duration. Additionally, we investigated the relationship between GM changes with disease severity.

In Vivo Molecular Changes in the Retina of Patients With Multiple Sclerosis.

Purpose: Raman spectroscopy allows molecular changes to be quantified in vivo from the tissues like the retina. Here we aimed to assess the metabolic changes in the retina of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: We built a Raman spectroscopy prototype by connecting a scanning laser ophthalmoscope to a spectrophotometer.

APOSTEL 2.0 Recommendations for Reporting Quantitative Optical Coherence Tomography Studies.

Objective: To update the consensus recommendations for reporting of quantitative optical coherence tomography (OCT) study results, thus revising the previously published Advised Protocol for OCT Study Terminology and Elements (APOSTEL) recommendations.

Methods: To identify studies reporting quantitative OCT results, we performed a PubMed search for the terms "quantitative" and "optical coherence tomography" from 2015 to 2017. Corresponding authors of the identified publications were invited to provide feedback on the initial APOSTEL recommendations via online surveys following the principle of a modified Delphi method.

Cortical fractal dimension predicts disability worsening in Multiple Sclerosis patients.

Background: Fractal geometry measures the morphology of the brain and detects CNS damage. We aimed to assess the longitudinal changes on brain's fractal geometry and its predictive value for disease worsening in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Methods: We prospectively analyzed 146 consecutive patients with relapsing-remitting MS with up to 5 years of clinical and brain MRI (3 T) assessments.

Oligoclonal IgM bands in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with relapsing MS to inform long-term MS disability.

Background: Prognostic markers are needed to guide multiple sclerosis (MS) management in the context of large availability of disease-modifying drugs (DMDs).

Objective: To investigate the role of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers to inform long-term MS outcomes.

Methods: Demographic features, IgM index, oligoclonal IgM bands (OCMB), lipid-specific OCMB, CSF neurofilament light chain protein levels, expanded disability status scale (EDSS), relapses and DMD use over the study period and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) and ganglion cell plus inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thicknesses in non-optic neuritis eyes (end of follow-up) were collected from relapsing MS (RMS) patients with CSF obtained ⩽2 years after MS onset prospectively followed at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona.

Impact of Cognitive Reserve and Structural Connectivity on Cognitive Performance in Multiple Sclerosis.

Cognitive reserve (CR) could attenuate the impact of the brain burden on the cognition in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). To explore the relationship between CR and structural brain connectivity and investigate their role on cognition in PwMS cognitively impaired (PwMS-CI) and cognitively preserved (PwMS-CP). In this study, 181 PwMS (71% female; 42.