Domizia Vecchio (Italy)
Ms Center , University of Piemonte Orientale Translational MedicineAuthor Of 1 Presentation
CSF TAU PROTEIN CORRELATES WITH COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENTS AT DIAGNOSIS
- Eleonora Virgilio (Italy)
Abstract
Background and Aims:
Cognitive impairment (CI) is a frequent and disabling symptom in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Axonal damage may contribute to CI development from early stages. Nevertheless, no biomarkers are at the moment available to track CI in MS patients. We aimed to explore the correlation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) axonal biomarkers, in particular: light-chain neurofilaments (NFL), Tau, and Beta-amyloid protein (Abeta) in MS patients with CI at the diagnosis.
Methods:
We enrolled 60 newly-diagnosed MS patients and cognition was evaluated using Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS) battery, which includes the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) for the assessment of information processing speed (IPS). NFL, Abeta, and Tau levels were determined with commercial ELISA.
Results:
Of our patients (40 female, mean age of 40 years old), 22 had CI defined as a T-score below 35 (equivalent to z-score below -1.5) in at least one of the three tests of BICAMS. Patients with CI showed greater neurodegeneration; in particular subjects with slowed IPS exhibited higher mean CSF Tau protein (176.8 ± 54.4 pg/ml versus 137.1 ± 60.3 pg/ml p:0.01) and SDMT T-score and Tau were significantly correlated (r:-0.31 p:0.01).
Conclusions:
CI has an important burden on the quality of life of MS patients and should be looked for even at diagnosis. BICAMS easily detects CI in newly-diagnosed MS patients. Axonal damage biomarkers seem to reflect cognition in early stages. Few data are reported in literature, and to our knowledge, our study is the first indicating a possible role of Tau protein in that process.