Cerebellar lobule atrophy and disability in progressive MS

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neurology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by widespread neurological damage.
• The cerebellum's role in motor and cognitive dysfunction in MS is increasingly recognized.
• Understanding cerebellar involvement is crucial for assessing disease progression and disability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate global and lobular cerebellar volumes in progressive MS patients.
• To determine the contribution of cerebellar lobular atrophy to motor and cognitive impairments.
• To correlate cerebellar metrics with clinical and MRI-derived measures of disease severity.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study including 82 progressive MS patients and 46 healthy controls (HC).
• Comprehensive motor and cognitive assessments including EDSS, 9-HPT, SDMT, BVMT, and CVLT.
• Automated cerebellar volumetry using the Spatially Unbiased Infratentorial Toolbox (SUIT) and hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis.

Main Results:

• Patients with MS showed reduced cerebellar volumes compared to HC.
• Cerebellar metrics explained additional variance in motor and cognitive performances.
• Cerebellar lesion volume and atrophy in lobules VI, Crus I, and VIIIa independently predicted performance on the 9-HPT, SDMT, BVMT, and CVLT.

Conclusions:

• Atrophy in specific cerebellar lobules is associated with distinct motor and cognitive deficits in progressive MS.
• Cerebellar involvement significantly contributes to the pathophysiology of clinical disability in MS.
• Targeted investigation of cerebellar structures offers insights into MS-related impairments.