Project Y: The search for clues explaining phenotype variability in MS

Floor C Loonstra; Lodewijk R J De Ruiter; Djoeke Doesburg; Ka-Hoo Lam; Zoë Y G J Van Lierop; Bastiaan Moraal; Eva M M Strijbis; Joep Killestein; Bernard M J Uitdehaag

doi:10.1016/j.msard.2021.103337

Project Y: The search for clues explaining phenotype variability in MS

Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2022 Jan:57:103337. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2021.103337. Epub 2021 Oct 16.

Authors

Floor C Loonstra¹, Lodewijk R J De Ruiter¹, Djoeke Doesburg², Ka-Hoo Lam¹, Zoë Y G J Van Lierop¹, Bastiaan Moraal³, Eva M M Strijbis¹, Joep Killestein¹, Bernard M J Uitdehaag¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam MS Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
² Ilionx, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
³ Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience, MS Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

PMID: 35158448
DOI: 10.1016/j.msard.2021.103337

Abstract

Background: To study phenotypic variability in MS patients, well-defined unbiased cohort studies are necessary. The most common and probably most important confounding factor when studying disease phenotype in MS is age.

Objective: To describe study design and subject characteristics of a unique birth cohort (Project Y). The overall aim of Project Y is to identify determinants associated with phenotypic variability in MS, eliminating the possibility of confounding by age.

Methods: Project Y is a population-based cross-sectional study of all people with MS born in the Netherlands in 1966. Patients and healthy controls were subjected to comprehensive examinations: functional and static imaging, physical and cognitive measurements, and lifestyle factors early and later in life. In addition body fluids were collected and stored for future biomarker research.

Results: 452 eligible MS patients were identified. Between December 2017 and January 2021, 367 MS patients and 125 healthy controls participated. The total number of identified cases results in a current prevalence of at least 189/100.000 for people born in the year 1966 in The Netherlands.

Conclusion: Project Y is a unique cohort designed to identify factors associated with phenotypic variability in MS patients without the confounding effects of age. This first description of the Project Y cohort indicates that the prevalence of MS in the Netherlands might be higher than previously presumed. Various studies using Project Y data are ongoing and results will be published in upcoming years.

Keywords: Multiple sclerosis; Prevalence.

MeSH terms

Biological Variation, Population*
Cohort Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Multiple Sclerosis* / epidemiology
Phenotype