Table 1.
Characteristics of the study sample.
| Whole sample (n = 98) | BDNF Val/Met (n = 35) | BDNF Val/Val (n = 63) | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Females, n (%)a | 65 (66.3%) | 18 (51.4%) | 47 (74.6%) | 0.020 |
| Age, mean years (SD)b | 43.9 (10.9) | 46.7 (10.7) | 42.3 (10.8) | 0.064 |
| Education, mean years (SD)b | 12.1 (3.96) | 11.5 (3.8) | 12.5 (4.0) | 0.213 |
| IQ, median (IQR)c | 108.8 (101.6–111.9) | 108.2 (98.0–114.0) | 109.3 (103.6–111.4) | 0.885 |
| Disease course | 0.392 | |||
| RR, n (%)a | 80 (81.6) | 27 (77.1) | 53 (84.1) | |
| CP, n (%)a | 18 (18.4) | 8 (22.9) | 10 (15.9) | |
| Age at onset, mean years (SD)b | 35.3 (10.4) | 36.9 (10.8) | 34.4 (10.2) | 0.262 |
| Disease duration, mean years (SD)b | 8.6 (7.4) | 9.9 (8.5) | 7.8 (6.7) | 0.225 |
| EDSS score, median (IQR)c | 2 (1.5–5.5) | 3 (2–5.5) | 2 (1.5–4.5) | 0.026 |
| No of relapses in the past year, mean (SD)b | 0.4 (0.6) | 0.26 (0.5) | 0.4 (0.7) | 0.244 |
| Treated with DMTs, n (%)a | 88 (89.8%) | 32 (91.4%) | 56 (88.9%) | 0.691 |
| FSS, median (IQR)c* | 5.0 (3.6–6.0) | 4.6 (3.7–5.6) | 5.2 (2.9–6.1) | 0.449 |
| MADRS, median (IQR)c | 6.0 (4.0–9.0) | 6.0 (4.0–9.0) | 6.0 (4.0–8.0) | 0.676 |
| No of failed tests, mean (SD)b | 1.9 (2.3) | 1.5 (1.8) | 2.13 (2.5) | 0.051 |
| SRT-LTS score, median (IQR)c | 38.2 (28.2–45.4) | 38.2 (32.2–46.3) | 36.2 (25.4–43.4) | 0.184 |
| SRT-CLTR score, median (IQR)c | 27.4 (19.9–39.1) | 27.4 (22.1–39.1) | 27.4 (19.1–38.1) | 0.784 |
| SRT-D score, median (IQR)c | 7.7 (5.0–9.3) | 7.9 (5.3–9.5) | 7.5 (4.9–9.3) | 0.580 |
| SPART score, median (IQR)c | 18.7 (15.4–23.7) | 19.2 (15.9–23.8) | 17.8 (13.9–21.9) | 0.252 |
| SPARTD score, median (IQR)c | 6.3 (4.9–7.9) | 6.9 (5.2–8.9) | 6.3 (4.9–7.3) | 0.025 |
| SDMT score, median (IQR)c | 48.4 (42.2–57.3) | 49.2 (42.5–57.6) | 47.4 (41.5–57.2) | 0.477 |
| WLG score, median (IQR)c | 23.0 (18.0–26.7) | 21.1 (16.9–26.9) | 23.1 (18.9–26.9) | 0.333 |
| ST score, median (IQR)c | 53.5 (41.4–63.2) | 51.1 (34.6–61.7) | 54.3 (47.8–63.7) | 0.221 |
| Pasat2 score, median (IQR)c | 25.5 (8.3–34.4) | 29.3 (16.9–34.2) | 203.3 (4.9–34.8) | 0.104 |
| Pasat3 score, median (IQR)c | 40.2 (27.7–49.0) | 38.4 (28.9–49.6) | 40.5 (23.9–46.5) | 0.417 |
available in 68 subjects;
Chi-squared;
t-test for independent samples;
Mann–Whitney U test.
IQ, intelligence quotient; RR, relapsing-remitting; CP, chronic progressive; EDSS, Expanded Disability Status Scale; DMTs, disease-modifying treatments; FSS, Fatigue Severity Scale; MADRS, Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale; SRT, Selective Reminding Test; SRT-LTS, Selective Reminding Test–Long Term Storage; SRT-CLTR, Selective Reminding Test–Consistent Long Term Retrieval; SRT-D, Selective Reminding Test–Delayed; SPART, Spatial Recall Test; SPART-D, Spatial Recall Test–Delayed; SDMT, Symbol Digit Modalities Test; WLG, Word List Generation; ST, Stroop Test; PASAT-2, Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test−2 seconds; PASAT-3, Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test−3 seconds; SD, standard deviation. The bold values are the statistically significant ones (p < 0.05).