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Título

Lower Globus Pallidus volume in Multiple Sclerosis patients associated with disease duration: a possible distinct neurodegenerative process

Resumo

Introduction: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, characterized essentially by white matter lesions, or plaques, and acute relapses with focal neurological deficits. However, a chronic disease course with neurological and radiological deterioration has been described with limited biomarkers and predictors. Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate volumetric analyzes of magnetic ressonance imaging in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with the puporse to stabilish associations or predictors of poor outcome/severity of this disease in a reference center in Pará state. Methodology: a descriptive and transversal study with patients’ records evaluation and usage of imaging of magnetic ressonance to generate volumetric data in VolBrain platform. Thirteen patients with MS were evaluated and fifteen imagings of healthy control subjects paired by age were obtained from online databank. Results: the brain volume and other diverse structures, in cm3, showed significant reduced values in MS patients compared to healthy controls, with relative preservation of cortical frontal structures and normal appearing white matter. None volumetric variable correlated with age, age at diagnosis and disability (EDSS). The Globus Pallidus volume was the only structure that showed strong correlation and significant association in regression analyses with disease duration, showing the dependency between these two variables. Conclusion: this study concludes that, just as reported in scientific literature, MS patients showed diminished volume in diverse brain structures, suggesting a neurodegenerative process with relative sparing of frontal and normal appearing white matter that occurs independently of disability. Yet, the Globus Pallidus volume, in isolation, what diverges from scientific literature, could be a potential biomarker of disease progression, though, more studies are necessary to stabilish better relationship between these variables.