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- Title
Brain and cognitive reserve mitigate balance dysfunction in multiple sclerosis.
- Authors
Prosperini, Luca; Alcamisi, Irene; Quartuccio, Maria Esmeralda; Rossi, Ilaria; Fortuna, Deborah; Ruggieri, Serena
- Abstract
Background: Approximately two-thirds of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) complain different degrees of balance dysfunction, but some of them are able to withstand considerable disease burden without an overt balance impairment. Here, we tested the hypothesis that brain and cognitive reserve lessen the effect of MS-related tissue damage on balance control. Methods: We measured the postural sway of 148 patients and 74 sex- and age-matched healthy controls by force platform under different conditions reflecting diverse neuro-pathological substrates of balance dysfunction: eyes opened (EO), eyes closed (EC), and while performing the Stroop test, i.e., dual-task (DT). Lesion volumes on T2-hyperintense and T1-hypointense sequences, and normalized brain volume provided estimations of MS-related tissue damage in patients with MS. Hierarchical linear regressions explored the protective effect against the MS-related tissue damage of intracranial volume and educational attainment (proxies for brain and cognitive reserve, respectively) on balance. Results: Larger intracranial volume and high educational attainment mitigated the detrimental effect of MS-related tissue damage on postural sway under EO (adjusted-R2=0.20 and 0.27, respectively, p<0.01) and DT (adjusted-R2=0.22 and 0.30, respectively, p<0.06) conditions. Neither educational level nor brain size was associated with postural sway under EC condition. Conclusion: Our findings suggest a protective role of brain and cognitive reserve even on balance, an outcome that relies on both motor control and higher order processing resources. The lack of a protective effect on postural sway under EC condition confirms that this latter outcome is closer associated with spinal cord rather than brain damage.
- Subjects
MULTIPLE sclerosis; SIZE of brain; STROOP effect; BRAIN damage; EDUCATIONAL attainment; MIND-wandering
- Publication
Neurological Sciences, 2023, Vol 44, Issue 12, p4411
- ISSN
1590-1874
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10072-023-06951-1