The relationship between quantitative magnetic resonance imaging markers and clinical/cognitive assessments in...

Background: This study examines the relationship between quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers and clinical/cognitive performance in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), exploring the impact of MRI markers on disability, clinical status, and cognitive function. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited patients with MS from the MS registry center of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran. Informed consent was obtained from all participants (8 men, 57 women). Patients with MS underwent neuropsychological and clinical assessments using a word-pair learning task, the Wisconsin Card Sorting test (WCST), Tower of London test (TOL), Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC), and the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). MRI markers were assessed by the neurologist and radiologist. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: Patients with plaques in the basal ganglia and thalamus had significantly different MSFC (P = 0.038) and PASAT (P = 0.010) scores, while higher EDSS scores correlated with T2-weighted-fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (T2-FLAIR) hyper-intense plaques (P = 0.025). T1 black hole plaques were associated with increased depression (P = 0.015). WCST scores were significantly higher in patients with infratentorial plaques (P = 0.006) and those with T1 black hole lesions (P < 0.05). Total plaque volume positively correlated with EDSS score (r = 0.386, P = 0.002) and word-pair learning (r = 0.254, P = 0.045), and negatively correlated with PASAT scores (r = -0.299, P = 0.017). Enhanced plaques correlated positively with TOL performance (r = 0.319, P = 0.010). Conclusion: Memory decline and increased disability in patients with MS are associated with brain volume loss, increased plaque volume, and plaque location in the infratentorial region, basal ganglia, and thalamus. Enhanced plaques or T1 black hole lesions also contribute to cognitive impairment.