Does Multiple Sclerosis Protect Against Alzheimer’s?

TOPLINE: 

Amyloid pathology typical of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is 50% lower in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) than in those without the condition, an analysis of plasma biomarker data shows. Investigators say the findings indicate a potential protective effect of MS against AD.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers recruited 100 patients with MS (mean age, 66.3 years; 70% women) and matched them (1:3) to 300 non-MS controls on the basis of age, sex, apolipoprotein E proteotype, and cognitive status.
• The p-tau217 ratio, beta amyloid (Aβ) 42/40 ratio, and amyloid probability score 2 (APS2) were measured using plasma samples.
• A total of 11 patients with MS underwent amyloid PET imaging with Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) to validate the plasma biomarker results.

TAKEAWAY:

• Patients with MS had a significantly lower APS2 score than controls (P = .00015), indicating a reduced amyloid pathology, and fewer patients with MS were APS2 positive than controls (7.1% vs 15.3%; P = .0043).
• Patients with MS also had a lower p-tau217 ratio (P = .00019), with fewer MS patients being p-tau217 positive than controls (9.0% vs 18.3%; P = .0024).
• No significant difference was found in the Aβ42/40 ratio between the groups.
• PiB and plasma results were congruent in 9 out of 11 patients.

IN PRACTICE:

“Our findings imply that some component of the biology of multiple sclerosis or the genetics of MS patients, is protective against Alzheimer’s disease. If we could identify what aspect is protective and apply it in a controlled way that could inform therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer’s disease,” lead author Matthew Brier, MD, PhD, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, said in a press release. 

SOURCE:

The study was published online on July 4, 2024, in Annals of Neurology.

LIMITATIONS: 

Plasma biomarkers of AD may be influenced by non-AD conditions. A small cohort size, recruitment bias, and the lack of cerebrospinal fluid confirmation further limited the study.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was funded by the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders at Washington University in St Louis and C2N Diagnostics. Several authors disclosed having equity or financial ties with C2N Diagnostics, which is associated with Washington University in St Louis and its licensed technologies. Detailed disclosures and funding sources are provided in the original article. 

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.