Neurofilament and Brain Atrophy and Their Association with Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study

Table 1

Demographic and clinical characteristics at baseline and follow-up visits of multiple sclerosis patients.

	Baseline ()	5 years ()	10 years ()
Age in years at baseline, mean (SD)	41.6 (9.8)	41.0 (9.7)	41.0 (9.2)
Female, (%)	30 (68)	24 (69)	19 (73)
cNfL at baseline in ng/mL	310 (102, 1144)	302 (103, 1086)	284 (91, 1115)
sNfL at baseline in pg/mL	11.8 (8.1, 17.3)^a	11.7 (8.1, 17.5)^b	11.2 (7.8, 17.1)^b
Disease duration in months at baseline	60 (42, 174)	60 (36, 108)	60 (48, 108)
Months since the last attack at baseline	9 (1, 18)^b	10 (1, 18)	10 (1, 22)
EDSS	3.5 (2.0, 4.0)	3.5 (2.0, 4.0)	3.0 (2.0, 5.0)
SDMT, mean (SD)	41.0 (12.3)^b	41.5 (15.3)	45.5 (17.8)
Cognitive impairment, (%)	33 (83)^b	28 (80)	19 (73)
Highest education level, (%)
(i) Primary school	3 (7)	2 (6)	2 (8)
(ii) High school	22 (54)	20 (57)	13 (50)
(iii) College/university	16 (39)	13 (37)	11 (42)
Disease course, (%)
(i) RRMS	34 (83)	26 (74)	14 (54)
(ii) SPMS	7 (17)	9 (26)	8 (31)
(iii) PPMS	0 (0)	0 (0)	4 (15)
Patients on DMT, (%)	6 (15)	17 (49)	17 (68)
(i) Interferons	5	11	7
(ii) Glatiramer acetate	1	5	3
(iii) Mitoxantrone		1	1
(iv) Natalizumab			3
(v) Fingolimod			1

Descriptives are presented as median (IQR) unless otherwise specified. ^a2 missing; ^b1 missing. Reclassified at 10 years examination. Abbreviation: SD: standard deviation; IQR: interquartile range; sNfL: serum neurofilament light chain; cNfL: cerebrospinal neurofilament light chain; EDSS: expanded disability status scale; SDMT: symbol digit modalities test; RRMS: relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis; SPMS: secondary progressive multiple sclerosis; PPMS: primary progressive multiple sclerosis; DMT: disease modifying therapy.