ApoE4-positive multiple sclerosis patients are more likely to have cognitive impairment: a cross-sectional study
Farshid Mashayekhi1, Saeed Sadigh-Eteghad1, Amirreza Naseri2
1Neurosciences Research Center (NSRC), Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, 5166614756, Tabriz, Iran.
Background:
Multiple sclerosis (MS) presents with a wide variety of symptoms, including cognitive dysfunction. Previous studies in terms of the possible function of the ApoE4 allele as a risk factor for cognitive dysfunction in MS patients were associated with conflicting results. The role of the ε4 isoform of apolipoprotein (ApoE4) was investigated in this study as a risk factor for cognitive dysfunction in MS patients.
Methods:
Mildly disabled relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients were involved in this study. The neurocognitive assessment is conducted by the Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function in MS (MACFIMS) battery. After determining the genotype, patients were divided into two groups of ApoE4-positive and ApoE4-negative groups, and cognitive findings were compared.
Results:
Seventy-one patients with a mean age of 31.43 ± 8.75 were involved in this study. Eleven out of 17 (64.70%) patients in the ApoE4-positive group had at least one impaired test, while this rate was 16 out of 54 (29.62%) in the ApoE4-negative group (p < 0.01). The rate of overall cognitive impairment (failure in ≥ 2 tests) was not statistically different between groups of the study (p = 0.75). Impairment in Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) task and also the mean score of Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R) tests were different between two groups (p = 0.01 and 0.02, respectively).
Conclusion:
MS ApoE4-positive patients are more likely to have at least one impaired cognitive test, but there is a need for more studies with larger sample sizes and based on MS-specific cognitive tests to confirm these findings.
Insights
The apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) allele may increase the risk of cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. ApoE4-positive MS patients showed higher rates of impaired cognitive tests, suggesting a potential link.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Genetics
- Neuropsychology
Background:
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by diverse symptoms, including cognitive dysfunction.
- Previous research on the association between the apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) allele and cognitive impairment in MS patients yielded conflicting results.
- This study investigated the role of the ApoE4 allele as a risk factor for cognitive dysfunction in MS.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if the ApoE4 allele is associated with cognitive dysfunction in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).
Main Methods:
- Recruited mildly disabled RRMS patients.
- Administered the Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function in MS (MACFIMS) for neurocognitive assessment.
- Genotyped patients for ApoE alleles and compared cognitive performance between ApoE4-positive and ApoE4-negative groups.
Main Results:
- ApoE4-positive patients (n=17) had a higher rate of at least one impaired cognitive test (64.70%) compared to ApoE4-negative patients (n=54) (29.62%, p < 0.01).
- No statistically significant difference in overall cognitive impairment (≥2 failed tests) was observed between the groups (p=0.75).
- Significant differences were found in performance on the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) (p=0.01) and the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R) (p=0.02).
Conclusions:
- MS patients carrying the ApoE4 allele are more prone to exhibiting at least one cognitive test impairment.
- Further research with larger cohorts and MS-specific cognitive assessments is warranted to validate these findings.
