Background: People with multiple sclerosis (MS) present varying degrees of disability throughout their disease course. The Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (MSSS) and the Age-Related Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (ARMSSS) adjust the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) according to disease duration and age, respectively. These measures could be useful for quantifying MS severity and as health outcome indicators for benchmarking in population-based settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Paramagnetic rim lesions (PRLs), usually identified in susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI), are a promising prognostic biomarker of disability progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). However, SWI is not routinely performed in clinical practice. The objective of this study is to define a novel imaging sign, the T1-dark rim, identifiable in a standard 3DT1 gradient-echo inversion-recovery sequence, such as 3D T1 turbo field echo (3DT1FE) and explore its performance as a SWI surrogate to define PRLs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Serum biomarkers are emerging as useful prognostic tools for multiple sclerosis (MS); however, long-term studies are lacking. We aimed to evaluate the long-term prognostic value of the serum levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), total tau, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and chitinase 3-like-1 (CHI3L1) measured close to the time of MS onset.
Methods: In this retrospective, exploratory, observational, case and controls study, patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) with available baseline serum samples and prospectively follow-up in our MS unit for a long time were selected based on their clinical evolution to form two groups: (1) a benign RRMS (bRRMS) group, defined as patients with an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score of ≤ 3 at ≥ 10 years of follow-up; (2) an aggressive RRMS (aRRMS) group, defined as patients with an EDSS score of ≥ 6 at ≤ 15 years of follow-up.
Introduction: The role of the kappa-free light chain (kFLC) in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and, to a lesser extent, its role as a medium-term prognostic marker have been extensively studied. This study aimed to explore its potential as a long-term prognostic marker for MS.
Methods: We performed an exploratory retrospective observational study by selecting patients systemically followed up in our MS unit with available cerebrospinal fluid and serum samples at the time of initial evaluation.
Background: Natalizumab (NTZ) and ocrelizumab (OCR) can be used for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). In patients treated with NTZ, screening for JC virus (JCV) is mandatory, and a positive serology usually requires a change in treatment after 2 years. In this study, JCV serology was used as a natural experiment to pseudo-randomize patients into NTZ continuation or OCR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Prior studies have suggested that cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) can affect the prognosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of this study was to assess if CVRFs affect the early course of MS.
Methods: A retrospective observational study was performed, including patients diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) from 2010 to 2020, with at least 2 years of disease and 6 months follow-up.