Abstract #5285

Does the presence of diffusely abnormal white matter in MS affect cognitive function?

James Cairns^1,2, Irene Vavasour¹, Guojun Zhao^2,3, Roger Tam^1,3, Sarah Morrow⁴, Andrew Riddehough^2,3, Alex MacKay^1,5, Anthony Traboulsee^2,3, Martin McKeown², Wayne Moore^2,6,7, David Li^1,2,3, and Cornelia Laule^1,5,6,7

¹Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, ²Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, ³UBC MS/MRI Research Group, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, ⁴Neurology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada, ⁵Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, ⁶Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, ⁷International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Multiple sclerosis (MS) subjects with diffusely abnormal white matter (DAWM) typically progress faster on physical disability scores. The impact of DAWM on cognitive measures is unknown. 50 MS participants had conventional MRI and cognitive tests of Trails Making Test, Working Memory, and Processing Speed. The presence of DAWM was not associated with worse cognitive performance. As DAWM is most commonly present in posterior regions of the brain, it may be that these cognitive tests were not sensitive to DAWM-associated pathology.

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