Table 3.
Overview of the above-mentioned studies investigating the relationship between BDNF and MRI characteristics.
| Study | Participants | Parameters | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brod et al. (103) | 13 patients with active MS without immunotherapy | Association of serum and CSF biomarkers with MRI characteristics | Association of increased CSF neuronal cell adhesion molecules (NCAM) with T1 activity and of CSF and serum NCAM with T1 lesion volume Negative association of serum BDNF and relative contribution of T1 lesion volume to the total lesion volume |
| Cerasa et al. (91) | 29 patients with RRMS 32 healthy controls (HC) |
Effect of Val66Met polymorphism on brain activity during spatial working memory task measured by fMRI | Increased activation of the parieto-prefrontal network, disengagement of the ventro-medial-prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in HCs, no effect in RRMS patients |
| Charil et al. (106) | 425 patients with early RRMS | Association of cortical thickness with other clinicoradiological characteristics | Association of cortical thickness with lesion load and disability, especially in cingulate gyrus, insula and associative cortical regions |
| Comini-Frota et al. (102) | 28 patients with MS, 28 healthy controls | Association of BDNF and MRI characteristics | Decreased BDNF levels in patients with MS with a negative association to T2/FLAIR lesion load |
| Conner et al. (104) | Animal study (adult rats) | Detailed mapping of BDNF immunoreactivity and synthesis | Synthesis of BDNF in neurons with anterograde axonal transportand storage in axonal terminals |
| Dinacci et al. (58) | 45 patients with MS, 34 healthy controls | Association of Val66Met polymorphism with MRI characteristics | Lower grey matter volume in Val66Val patients compared to healthy controls, but not in Val66Met patients compared to healthy controls |
| Dolcetti et al. (108) | 218 patients with RRMS | Association of Val66Met polymorphism and CSF levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules with clinicoradiological characteristics | Association of Val66Met polymorphism and the proinflammatory molecules MCP-1, IL-8, TNF, Eotaxin, and MIP-1b and cortical atrophy at time of diagnosis, but not with clinical characteristics |
| Fera et al. (92) | 26 RRMS patients without cognitive impairment, 25 healthy controls | Effect of Val66Met polymorphism on hippocampal function in fMRI during episodic memory task | Higher activity parahippocampal, in left posterior hippocampus and left posterior cingulate cortex during encoding and retrieval as well as higher connectivity between hippocampus and posterior cingulate cortex during retrieval in Val homozygote RRMS patients opposite effects in healthy controls |
| Giordano et al. (90) | 100 patients with progressive MS | Effects of BDNF and NTRK2 genes on motor recovery | Greater motor improvement after rehabilitation in Val66Met carriers |
| Liguori et al. (49) | 50 patients with RRMS, 50 healthy controls | Effect of Val66Met on MRI characteristics and cognition | Lower grey matter volume in patients withVal66Met polymorphism No association of Val66Met polymorphism with cognition in patients with RRMS and healthy controls |
| Liguori et al. (45) | 36 inactive patients with RRMS and 37 healthy controls | Effect of Val66Met polymorphism and BDNF levels on patients with RRMS over 24 months | Higher BDNF levels in patients with RRMS compared to healthy controls, regardless immunotherapy No correlation of Val66Met polymorphism with clinical or MRI characteristics |
| Meo et al. (109) | 50 patients with MS, 15 healthy controls | Effect of Val66Met polymorphism on hippocampal subfield volumes and cognition | Patients with MS had lower volume of hippocampus-amygdala transition area, cornus ammonis (CA1), granule cell layer of dentate gyrus, CA4 and CA3 of left hippocampal head, molecular layer of the left hippocampal body; presubiculum of right hippocampal body and right fimbria Val66Met polymorphism was associated with higher volume of hippocampal tail; CA1, ML, CA3, CA4, and GCL-DG of left hippocampal head; CA1, ML, and CA3 of the left hippocampal body; left hippocampus-amygdala transition area, presubiculum of the right hippocampal headNegative association of higher lesion load with lower volume of presubiculum of right hippocampal body Positive association of left hippocampal tail volume withvisuospatial memory and left hippocampal head volume with semantic fluency |
| Prinster et al. (107) | 188 patients with MS | MRI characteristics and association with disease duration and severity | Decreased grey matter volume of left fronto-temporal cortex and precuneus, anterior cingulate gyrus, bilateral caudate nuclei, cortical grey matter of postcentral area in patients with MS |
| Ramasamy et al. (60) | 188 patients with MS | Effect of Val66Met polymorphism on regional grey matter in MRI | Higher grey matter volume in the cingulate of patient with MS with Val66Met polymorphism compared to Val66Val patients |
| Sarchielli et al. (37) | 20 patients with RRMS (7 with acute relapse), 15 patients with SPMS, 20 healthy controls | Association of BDNF production by PBMCs unstimulated and stimulated with phytohemagglutinin, anti-OKT3 AB and MPB with clinicoradiological characteristics | Patients with MS had lower volume of hippocampus-amygdala transition area, cornus ammonis (CA1), granule cell layer of dentate gyrus, CA4 and CA3 of left hippocampal head, molecular layer of the left hippocampal body; presubiculum of right hippocampal body and right fimbria Val66Met polymorphism was associated with higher volume of hippocampal tail; CA1, ML, CA3, CA4, and GCL-DG of left hippocampal head; CA1, ML, and CA3 of the left hippocampal body; left hippocampus-amygdala transition area, presubiculum of the right hippocampal head Higher BDNF in supernatants of unstimulated and stimulated PBMCs in RRMS patients during and after relapse compared to stable phaseLower BDNF in unstimulated and stimulated PBMC supernatants of patients with SPMS compared to healthy controls, especially in patients with recent EDSS worsening (≥1 point in the last 6 months) Positive association of left hippocampal tail volume withvisuospatial memory and left hippocampal head volume with semantic fluency |
| Weinstock-Guttman et al. (52) | 52 patients with relapsing MS | Association of BDNF with clinical and MRI variables | Positive association of BDNF with contrast-enhancing lesion volume and higher white matter volume as well asnegative Association of MTR of contrast-enhancing lesion volume and normal-appearing white matter with BDNF, both after stimulation with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28; Decreasing BDNF secretion with increasing disease duration; No association with Val66Met polymorphism |
| Zivadinov et al. (1) | 209 patients with MS (108 with cognitive testing) | Effect of Val66Met polymorphism on brain morphometry and functionality measured by MRI and cognitive testing | Positive association of Val66Met polymorphism with normalized grey matter volume and negative association with T2 lesion volume only trend towards a association of Val66Met polymorphism with PASAT |