Patients with multiple sclerosis showed more advanced white matter alteration compared to those with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, although both exhibited altered network topologies.
Along with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the major chronic inflammatory demyelinating disorders that can affect the central nervous system. This study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, compares the alteration of white matter connectivity between patients with MS, NMOSD, and healthy controls. The study involved a total of 68 patients with relapsing-remitting MS, 50 with NMOSD, and 26 healthy controls.
For this study, the researchers used a network-based statistics method to assess disrupted patterns in white matter networks. Post-hoc tests were performed using three pairwise permutation-based analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), because ANCOVA does not determine differences between specific groups. False positives and false negatives were counted for different group thresholds.
The authors compared topological characteristics in each of the three groups and then examined associations with clinical parameters. A network analysis of participants’ white matter showed that patients with MS and NMOSD exhibited lower total strength, clustering coefficient, global efficiency, local efficiency, and longer characteristic path lengths when compared to healthy controls, although no differences were found between MS and NMOSD groups.
The MS group showed more brain regions with altered network topologies compared to the NMOSD group, and network alterations were correlated with both the Expanded Disability Status Scale score and disease duration in both MS and NMOSD groups. Overall, patients with MS showed greater network dysfunction compared to those with NMOSD. In particular, connections within the thalamus and inferomedial temporal regions were relatively functional in the NMOSD group compared to the MS group.
Reference
Cho, E. B., Kim, D., Jeong, B., Shin, J. H., Chung, Y. H., Kim, S. T., . . . Min, J. H. (2022). Disrupted structural network of inferomedial temporal regions in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis compared with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder. Sci Rep, 12(1), 5152. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-09065-4
