Table 1.
Baseline demographic, clinical, and MRI data
| DMF | noDMT | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of patients with multiple sclerosis | 20 | 8 | – |
| Age (years) | 46.1 ± 10.2 (26.9–60.7) | 42.5 ± 6.6 (30.7–50.8) | 0.47‡ |
| Women, no. (%) | 13 (65%) | 8 (100%) | 0.07† |
| Disease duration (years)* | 12.4 ± 8.0 (1.3–35.7) | 6.7 ± 6.8 (0.2–17.0) | 0.15‡ |
| Expanded Disability Status Scale score | 1.1 ± 1.2 (0–3.5) | 1.7 ± 1.1 (0–3.0) | 0.22‡ |
| Timed 25-foot walk (s) | 4.6 ± 0.8 (3.3–6.7) | 4.4 ± 0.6 (3.5–5.2) | 0.68‡ |
| Time on DMF vs. baseline MRI (months)** | 2.0 ± 2.8 (−2 to 6) | – | – |
| Thalamus volume (ml) | 15.2 ± 1.7 (13.0–18.3) | 14.5 ± 0.8 (13.4–15.6) | 0.33‡ |
| Caudate volume (ml) | 6.4 ± 0.8 (5.1–8.0) | 6.5 ± 1.0 (5.0–8.1) | 0.90‡ |
| Putamen volume (ml) | 9.4 ± 1.0 (7.6–11.6) | 9.4 ± 1.2 (7.9–11.1) | 0.98‡ |
| Globus pallidus volume (ml) | 3.5 ± 0.4 (2.8–4.4) | 3.3 ± 0.3 (2.9–3.7) | 0.28‡ |
| Total DGM volume (ml) | 34.6 ± 3.3 (29.6–42.1) | 33.7 ± 3.0 (29.7–38.3) | 0.53‡ |
| Cerebral T2 lesion volume (ml) | 8.6 ± 11.6 (0.4–46.5) | 2.7 ± 1.7 (0.6–6.2) | 0.28‡ |
| Cerebral # of gadolinium enhancing lesions | 0.9 ± 1.3 (0–5) | 0.3 ± 0.5 (0–1) | 0.35§ |
Data are shown as mean ± standard deviation (range), except as otherwise indicated; * years from first symptoms; DMF dimethyl fumarate; noDMT no disease-modifying therapy; total cerebral deep gray matter (DGM) = thalamus + caudate + putamen + globus pallidus; ** negative number indicates that therapy was started after baseline MRI; † Fisher’s exact test; ‡ Exact Wilcoxon test; § Exact Jonckheere–Terpstra test