Publications by authors named "Paola Valsasina"
Disruptions to brain networks, measured using structural (sMRI), diffusion (dMRI), or functional (fMRI) MRI, have been shown in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), highlighting the relevance of regions in the core of the connectome but yielding mixed results depending on the studied connectivity domain. Using a multilayer network approach, we integrated these three modalities to portray an enriched representation of the brain's core-periphery organization and explore its alterations in PwMS. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, we selected PwMS and healthy controls with complete multimodal brain MRI acquisitions from 13 European centers within the MAGNIMS network.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: In multiple sclerosis (MS), brain reserve serves as a protective factor against cognitive impairment. Previous research has suggested a structural counterpart in the spine-spinal cord reserve-seemed to be associated with physical disability. This study aimed to investigate the potential of the cervical canal area (CCaA) as a proxy for spinal cord reserve in a multicentric cohort of people with MS (PwMS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Disentangling brain aging from disease-related neurodegeneration in patients with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) is increasingly topical. The brain-age paradigm offers a window into this problem but may miss disease-specific effects. In this study, we investigated whether a disease-specific model might complement the brain-age gap (BAG) by capturing aspects unique to MS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Fatigue is commonly observed in pediatric multiple sclerosis (pedMS) patients, but its underlying mechanisms remain largely unexplored. We evaluated whether resting-state (RS) functional connectivity (FC) abnormalities in monoaminergic networks contributed to explain fatigue in pedMS.
Methods: Fifty-five pedMS and twenty-three matched healthy controls (HC) underwent clinical and RS functional MRI assessment.
Objective: The present study aimed to identify the clinical and MRI features of the distinct cognitive phenotypes in pediatric multiple sclerosis (pedMS).
Methods: PedMS patients (n = 73) and healthy controls (n = 30) underwent clinical examination and 3.0T MRI.
Background: Research on cognitive rehabilitation (CR) and aerobic exercise (EX) to improve cognition in progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS) remains limited. CogEx trial investigated the effectiveness of CR and EX in PMS: here, we present MRI substudy volumetric and task-related functional MRI (fMRI) findings.
Methods: Participants were randomised to: 'CR plus EX', 'CR plus sham EX (EX-S)', 'EX plus sham CR (CR-S)' and 'CR-S plus EX-S' and attended 12-week intervention.
Background: Research work has shown that hippocampal subfields are atrophic to varying extents in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. However, studies examining the functional implications of subfield-specific hippocampal damage in early MS are limited. We aim to gain insights into the relationship between hippocampal atrophy and memory function by investigating the correlation between global and regional hippocampal atrophy and memory performance in early MS patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- This study investigates how multiple sclerosis (MS) affects the external (GPe) and internal (GPi) globus pallidus compared to healthy individuals, focusing on structural and functional changes.
- Using MRI technology, researchers analyzed brain regions in 60 MS patients and 30 healthy controls, measuring disability using various tests.
- Findings show that MS patients had increased T1/T2 ratios indicating possible iron accumulation, with functional connectivity alterations in the GPe and GPi linked to greater clinical disability and motor/cognitive impairments.
Article Synopsis
- * Eighty-nine MS patients were analyzed at baseline and again after a median follow-up of 1.3 years, revealing differences in RS FC related to dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin among patients with fatigue.
- * Results indicated that fatigued MS patients showed increased connectivity in certain brain regions like the caudate nucleus and decreased in others like the frontal cortex, while changes in healthy controls were minimal, highlighting distinct neural patterns associated with fatigue in MS.
Background: In MS, functional connectivity (FC) dynamism may influence disease evolution.
Objectives: The objective is to assess time-varying functional connectivity (TVFC) changes over time at 2.5-year follow-up in MS patients according to physical and cognitive worsening.
Functional correlates of cognitive abilities vary with age in pediatric multiple sclerosis.
Mult Scler Relat Disord
February 2024
Background: Pediatric multiple sclerosis (PedMS) can hamper brain maturation. Aim of this study was to assess the neuropsychological profile of PedMS patients and their resting-state functional connectivity (RS FC).
Methods: We assessed intelligence quotient (IQ), executive speed, and language in 76 PedMS patients.
Background: Monoaminergic network dysfunction is thought to underpin depression in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. However, longitudinal studies are lacking.
Objectives: Here, we investigated the association between development of depressive symptoms in MS and changes of resting-state functional connectivity (RS FC) within monoaminergic networks.
Background: We investigated sex-related differences in upper limb motor performance tested with the 9-Hole Peg Test (9HPT) in healthy controls (HC) and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and their MRI substrates.
Materials And Methods: We enrolled 94 HC and 133 MS patients, who underwent neurological examination, 9HPT and brain 3T MRI, with sequences for regional grey matter volume (GMV), white matter (WM) fractional anisotropy (FA) and resting state (RS) functional connectivity (FC) analysis. Associations between MRI variables and 9HPT performance were analyzed with general linear models.
Background: We aimed to explore whether erenumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting the calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor, could exert a central effect on brain network function in migraine, and investigate the persistence of such an effect following treatment discontinuation.
Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial with a crossover design performed in adult episodic migraine patients with previous treatment failure. Patients were randomized (1:1) to 12 weeks of erenumab 140 mg or placebo, followed by a 12-week crossover.
Background: Monoaminergic network dysfunction may have a role in multiple sclerosis (MS) fatigue pathogenesis.
Objective: To investigate modifications of fatigue severity and resting state (RS) functional connectivity (FC) in monoaminergic networks of 45 fatigued MS patients after different symptomatic treatments.
Methods: Patients were randomly, blindly assigned to fampridine (n = 15), amantadine (n = 15) or placebo (n = 15) treatment and underwent clinical and 3T-MRI evaluations at baseline (t0) and week 4 (w4), i.
Article Synopsis
- * Recent studies are exploring various MRI markers and techniques, such as measuring glymphatic function, myelin content ratios, and MS phenotype classifications based on MRI rather than symptoms.
- * The discussion includes the implications of gray vs. white matter atrophy and how different MRI approaches can inform clinical practices and future research in MS.
Background And Purpose: The differences in cognitive function between primary progressive and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) remain unclear. We compared cognitive performance between primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), and explored the structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) correlates of their cognitive functions.
Methods: Seventy-five healthy controls and 183 MS patients (60 PPMS and 123 SPMS) underwent 3.
Background: Heterogeneous processes may contribute to cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS).
Objective: To apply a longitudinal multiparametric MRI approach to identify mechanisms associated with cognitive worsening in MS patients.
Methods: 3 T brain functional and structural MRI scans were acquired at baseline and after a median follow-up of 3.
Background: Altered thalamic volumes and resting state (RS) functional connectivity (FC) might be associated with physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in people with progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS).
Objectives: To assess thalamic structural and functional alterations and investigate their correlations with PA/CRF levels in people with PMS.
Methods: Seven-day accelerometry and cardiopulmonary exercise testing were used to assess PA/CRF levels in 91 persons with PMS.
Article Synopsis
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological condition that leads to severe brain damage and changes in brain function, with variations in these effects depending on the MS phase.
- The study discusses a machine learning system that analyzes resting-state functional connectivity (RS FC) data to differentiate between various MS phenotypes and pinpoint crucial functional connections for identifying disease stages.
- The framework demonstrated strong classification performance across all MS types and effectively identified significant RS FC changes that aid in accurate phenotype classification.
Background: Frontal cortico-subcortical dysfunction may contribute to fatigue and dual-task impairment of walking and cognition in progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS).
Purpose: To explore the associations among fatigue, dual-task performance and structural and functional abnormalities of frontal cortico-subcortical network in PMS.
Methods: Brain 3 T structural and functional MRI sequences, Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS), dual-task motor and cognitive performances were obtained from 57 PMS patients and 10 healthy controls (HC).
Phase III, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of Neuroaspis plp10 as an adjuvant treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis: the MINERAL Study.
BMJ Neurol Open
November 2022
Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of Neuroaspis plp10 nutritional supplement when added to interferon (IFN)-β treatment in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).
Design: A 30-month phase III multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Randomisation stratified by centre using a computer-generated procedure with Neuroaspis plp10 versus placebo in 1:1 ratio.
The Italian Neuroimaging Network Initiative (INNI) is an expanding repository of brain MRI data from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients recruited at four Italian MRI research sites. We describe the raw data quality of resting-state functional MRI (RS-fMRI) time-series in INNI and the inter-site variability in functional connectivity (FC) features after unified automated data preprocessing. MRI datasets from 489 MS patients and 246 healthy control (HC) subjects were retrieved from the INNI database.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMonoaminergic network abnormalities: a marker for multiple sclerosis-related fatigue and depression.
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
February 2023
Objective: To investigate monoaminergic network abnormalities in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) according to their fatigue and depressive status through a positron emission tomography (PET)-based constrained independent component analysis (ICA) on resting state (RS) functional MRI (fMRI).
Methods: In this prospective study, 213 patients with MS (mean age=40.6±12.