Table 4.
Effect of age on quantitative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) indexes. Albumin quotient (QAlb) was used to quantify blood–CSF barrier permeability. IgG index and Reiber’s intrathecal fraction (IF) formulas were used to assess intrathecal IgG synthesis. Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients were from cohort 1 and cohort 2, while patients with the clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) were from cohort 3. Both groups were analyzed as a whole and divided according to sex.
| Age vs. QAlb (×1000) |
Age vs. IgG Index |
Age vs. IgG IF (%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| MS patients (n = 340) | |||
| Spearman r | 0.1807 | −0.01312 | −0.01483 |
| 95% CI | 0.07270–0.2846 | −0.1224–0.09650 | −0.1241–0.09481 |
| p-value | 0.0008 | 0.8095 | 0.7853 |
| MS males (n = 109) | |||
| Spearman r | 0.2711 a | 0.02820 | −0.001166 |
| 95% CI | 0.08190–0.4415 | −0.1662–0.2205 | −0.1946–0.1924 |
| p-value | 0.0043 | 0.7710 | 0.9904 |
| MS females (n = 231) | |||
| Spearman r | 0.1540 a | −0.03586 | −0.003181 |
| 95% CI | 0.02161–0.2811 | −0.1679–0.09745 | −0.1360–0.1297 |
| p-value | 0.0192 | 0.5877 | 0.9616 |
| CIS patients (n = 89) | |||
| Spearman r | 0.2368 | 0.1775 | 0.05126 |
| 95% CI | 0.02380–0.4293 | −0.03816–0.3774 | −0.1648–0.2626 |
| p-value | 0.0255 | 0.0961 | 0.6333 |
| CIS males (n = 32) | |||
| Spearman r | 0.4561 | 0.3567 | 0.1519 |
| 95% CI | 0.1171–0.6999 | −0.001664–0.6338 | −0.2180–0.4837 |
| p-value | 0.0087 | 0.0451 | 0.4065 |
| CIS females (n = 57) | |||
| Spearman r | 0.1834 | 0.1027 | −0.01537 |
| 95% CI | −0.08886–0.4302 | −0.1698–0.3607 | −0.2821–0.2536 |
| p-value | 0.1720 | 0.4470 | 0.9096 |
Spearman test was used for all correlations. a Differences between slopes were not significant (F = 1.849, p = 0.1748), while differences between the elevations were extremely significant (F = 41.71, p < 0.0001). CI, confidence interval.