• Miklos Palotai, Catherine Small, Nikolaos Makris, Nathaniel G Somes, Alfredo Morales Pinzon, Yogesh Rathi, Aldo Marzullo, James J Levitt, Rohit Bakshi, Tanuja Chitnis, and GuttmannCharles R GCRGCenter for Neurological Imaging, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA..
• Center for Neurological Imaging, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
• J Neuroimaging. 2021 May 1; 31 (3): 501-507.

Background And PurposeLower reward responsiveness has been associated with fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS). However, association of MS-related fatigue with damage to the mesocorticolimbic reward pathway (superolateral medial forebrain bundle [slMFB]) has not been assessed. We investigated the association of fatigue and depression with slMFB damage in MS patients stratified based on longitudinal fatigue patterns.MethodsPatient stratification: 1. Sustained Fatigue (SF): latest two Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) ≥ 38 (n = 26); 2. Reversible Fatigue (RF): latest MFIS < 38, and at least one previous MFIS ≥ 38 (n = 25); 3. Never Fatigued (NF): ≥ 5 consecutive MFIS < 38 (n = 42); 4. Healthy Controls (n = 6). Diffusion MRI-derived measures of fractional anisotropy (FA), axial (AD), mean (MD), and radial diffusivity (RD) of the slMFB were compared between the groups. Depression was assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D).ResultsDepressed (CES-D ≥ 16) SF patients showed significantly higher MD and RD than nondepressed SF and RF, and depressed RF patients, and significantly lower FA than nondepressed SF and depressed RF patients in their left slMFB. Depressed SF patients showed significantly higher left slMFB MD and AD than healthy controls.ConclusionMicrostructural changes to the left slMFB may play a role in the comorbid development of fatigue and depression in MS.© 2021 American Society of Neuroimaging.

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