Frailty and relapse activity in multiple sclerosis: A longitudinal observation

Viola Baione; Marco Canevelli; Daniele Belvisi; Maria Chiara Buscarinu; Gianmarco Bellucci; Roberta Fantozzi; Carolina Gabri Nicoletti; Giorgia Malatuni; Antonio Cortese; Laura De Giglio; Matteo Tartaglia; Gina Ferrazzano; Leonardo Malimpensa; Giorgio Leodori; Giuseppe Bruno; Elisabetta Ferraro; Girolama Alessandra Marfia; Diego Centonze; Marco Salvetti; Antonella Conte

doi:10.1016/j.msard.2023.104603

Frailty and relapse activity in multiple sclerosis: A longitudinal observation

Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2023 Apr:72:104603. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2023.104603. Epub 2023 Mar 5.

Authors

Viola Baione¹, Marco Canevelli², Daniele Belvisi³, Maria Chiara Buscarinu⁴, Gianmarco Bellucci⁴, Roberta Fantozzi⁵, Carolina Gabri Nicoletti⁶, Giorgia Malatuni⁶, Antonio Cortese⁷, Laura De Giglio⁷, Matteo Tartaglia¹, Gina Ferrazzano¹, Leonardo Malimpensa⁵, Giorgio Leodori³, Giuseppe Bruno¹, Elisabetta Ferraro⁷, Girolama Alessandra Marfia⁸, Diego Centonze⁸, Marco Salvetti⁹, Antonella Conte¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
² Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
³ Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, IS, Italy.
⁴ Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health, and Sensory Organs (NESMOS), Sapienza, University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
⁵ IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, IS, Italy.
⁶ Multiple Sclerosis Clinical and Research Unit, Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy.
⁷ S. Filippo Neri Hospital, Rome, Italy.
⁸ IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, IS, Italy; Multiple Sclerosis Clinical and Research Unit, Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy.
⁹ IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, IS, Italy; Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health, and Sensory Organs (NESMOS), Sapienza, University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
¹⁰ Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, IS, Italy. Electronic address: antonella.conte@uniroma1.it.

PMID: 36905818
DOI: 10.1016/j.msard.2023.104603

Abstract

Recent cross-sectional investigations suggest a relationship between frailty, as measured by Frailty Index (FI), and multiple sclerosis (MS). However, if and how frailty is associated with relapse activity in MS is still unknown. To explore this issue, a one-year follow-up study involving 471 patients was conducted. A univariate regression model showed an inverse association between baseline FI score and the presence of relapse, which was also confirmed in the multivariate model. These results suggest that frailty may reflect pathophysiological mechanisms involved in MS disease activity and that the FI may be used as an enrichment criterion in clinical trials.

Keywords: Aging; Frailty; Immunosenescence; Multiple sclerosis; Neurodegeneration.

Publication types

Letter

MeSH terms

Aged
Chronic Disease
Cross-Sectional Studies
Follow-Up Studies
Frail Elderly
Frailty*
Geriatric Assessment / methods
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Multiple Sclerosis*