The Multiple Sclerosis Severity Allele rs10191329^A and Cognitive Function: A UK Biobank Study

The genome-wide association study of Multiple Sclerosis severity linked the genetic variant rs10191329^A to long-term disability and implicated brain resilience as a determinant of outcome. We hypothesised that rs10191329^A might influence cognition in other neurological diseases and healthy controls. We explored the relationship between rs10191329^A and cognition using reaction time, fluid intelligence, and prospective memory tests in the UK Biobank. We observed weak but directionally consistent associations between rs10191329^A and poorer cognition in controls, with similar but non-significant trends in Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and dementia. Our results support the hypothesis that rs10191329^A might affect multiple sclerosis outcomes by affecting brain health.