Table 1.
Baseline characteristics and cellular subsets of the enrolled cohort
| Variables** | RMS (n = 396) | OCR (n = 216) | OFA (n = 180) | p-value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female n (%) | 265 (66.9) | 145 (67.1) | 120 (66.7) | 0.971 |
| Age, year | 37.9 ± 9.9 | 38.9 ± 10.3 | 37.1 ± 9.5 | 0.395 |
| Smokers n (%) | 138 (34.8) | 76 (35.2) | 62 (34.4) | 0.819 |
| Patient with Comorbidities n (%) | 136 (34.3) | 73 (33.8) | 63 (35) | 0.593 |
| BMI (median, IQR) | 23.8 (21.6–26.1) | 24.4 (22.2–26.2) | 23.6 (21.5–26.1) | 0.745 |
| Lag-time, months | 15.9 ± 28.7 | 15.7 ± 28.1 | 15.9 ± 29.3 | 0.712 |
| Disease duration, years | 4.5 (1.5–13) | 7 (2.2–15) | 2 (0.5–10) | 0.004 |
| Patients naive to DMTs, n (%) | 157 (39.6) | 80 (37) | 77(42.8) | 0.210 |
| Relapses in the year before index date | 1.8 ± 0.7 | 1.8 ± 0.7 | 1.7 ± 0.6 | 0.359 |
| Patients with MRI activity in the year before index date, n (%) | 222 (56.1) | 127 (58.8) | 95 (52.8) | 0.243 |
| Baseline EDSS (median, IQR) | 2.5 (2.0–4.0) | 3.0 (2.0–4.5) | 2.0 (1.5–3.0) | < 0.001 |
| Lymphocytes, absolute counts (SD)α | (n = 186) | (n = 122) | (n = 74) | p-valueβ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Killer CD16 + CD56 + CD3-cells | 269.5 (170.7) | 272.8 (196.1) | 265.2 (130.2) | 0.772 |
| T CD3 + CD45 + cells | 1410 (670) | 1414.5 (723.2) | 1404.5 (595.9) | 0.926 |
| T helper CD3 + CD4 + cells | 848.6 (483.5) | 861.5 (517.9) | 829.5 (431.5) | 0.709 |
| T cytotoxic CD3 + CD8 + cells | 464.7 (273.9) | 456.1 (284.1) | 474.2 (259.6) | 0.660 |
| B-naïve CD19 + CD27 − IgD + cells | 222.3 (186.9) | 217.9 (207.5) | 265.2 (130.2) | 0.679 |
BMI, Body Mass Index; EDSS, Expanded Disability Status Scale; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; N. number; SD, standard deviation. *Via t test, Mann–Whitney U test or chi-squared test; **data are reported as the mean ± standard deviation unless otherwise specified
α Normative values: CD3 + CD45+ T cells , 690–2540 cells/Ul, CD3 + CD4 + T helper, 410–1590 cells/Ul, CD3 + CD8 + T cytotoxic, 190–1140 cells/Ul; B CD19 + , 90–660 cells/Ul; CD16 + CD56 + CD3- Natural Killer, 90–590 cells/Ul.
β via ANOVA with Welch correction. Statistically significant values are shown in bold