• Louis Hofstetter, Yvonne Naegelin, Lukas Filli, Pascal Kuster, Stefan Traud, Renata Smieskova, Nicole Mueller-Lenke, Ludwig Kappos, Achim Gass, Till Sprenger, Iris-Katharina Penner, Thomas E Nichols, Hugo Vrenken, Frederik Barkhof, Chris Polman, Ernst-Wilhelm Radue, Stefan J Borgwardt, and Kerstin Bendfeldt.
• University Hospital Basel, Switzerland.
• Mult. Scler. 2014 Feb 1;20(2):202-13.

BackgroundIn multiple sclerosis (MS) regional grey matter (GM) atrophy has been associated with disability progression.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to compare regional GM volume changes in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients with progressive and stable disability, using voxel-based morphometry (VBM).MethodsWe acquired baseline and 1-year follow-up 3-dimensional (3D) T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of RRMS patients, using two 1.5-Tesla scanners. Patients were matched pair-wise with respect to age, gender, disease duration, medication, scanner and baseline Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) into 13 pairs, with either progressive EDSS (≥ 1 point change y(-1)) or stable EDSS, as well as into 29 pairs with either progressive Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC) at ≥ 0.25% decrease in y(-1) in any component, or stable MSFC. We analysed longitudinal regional differences in GM volumes in the progressive and stable EDSS and MSFC groups, respectively, using VBM.ResultsSignificant GM volume reductions occurred in the right precuneus, in the progressive EDSS group. Differential between-group effects occurred in the right precuneus and in the postcentral gyrus. Further longitudinal GM volume reductions occurred in the right orbicular gyrus, in the progressive MSFC group, but no between-group differences were observed (non-stationary cluster-wise inference, all P(corrected) < 0.05).ConclusionThese results suggested a direct association of disability progression and regional GM atrophy in RRMS.

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