Exploring the Relations Between Emotional Disability and Subcortical Atrophy in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Francesca Bagnato¹, Clelia Pellicano¹, Fredric Cantor¹, Antonio Gallo¹, Sungyoung Auh², Mary Ehrmantraut¹, Iordanis Evangelou¹, Vasiliki Ikonomidou¹, Robert Kane³, Joan Ohayon¹, Susan Stern¹, Henry McFarland¹

Pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the development of depression in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) remain unknown. We here demonstrate that atrophy of deep grey matter (GM) structures of the limbic circuit, such as thalamus and hippocampus, may explain up to 30% of the variance of depression in MS. The relation between depression and GM atrophy holds significant when the effect of patients physical disability is taken into account. The results highlight the role of neurodegeneration in specific brain sites as an important factor associated with depression in MS patients.