Objective Advancements in treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) have led to an increase in the number of older adults living with the disease. Exercise has been shown to be remarkably beneficial for “healthy aging,” while sedentary behavior has proved to have more deleterious effects. Despite evidence for the impact of these factors, their influence on older adults with MS is largely unknown. The current study utilizes volumetric measures and graph theory to investigate the relationship between physical activity/sedentary behavior, structural brain indices, and cognition in older adults with MS. Method Twenty-seven older adults (55+) with MS were scanned during a structural MRI protocol and cognitively evaluated using the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite and Symbol Digit Modalities Test. Graph theory metrics were calculated to examine white matter network properties. FreeSurfer was used to calculate volumes for subcortical structures. Exercise was quantified as the ‘days per week engaged in moderate activity,’ while sedentary behavior was measured as ‘hours per day sitting.’ Results Multiple regression interaction analyses were conducted. Results showed an exercise by age interaction, such that exercise protected against the negative effects of age on thalamic volume and assortivity. Hours sitting per day was shown to add to the negative effects of aging on structural networks even after controlling for exercise. Lastly, exercise was observed to be protective against age-related cognitive decline in this sample. Conclusions This is one of the first studies to examine exercise/sedentariness and brain indices in older adults with MS, pointing to possible brain altering and protective interventions for this group.

中文翻译：

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A-03 神经系统老龄化人群的脑-身体连接：检查运动和久坐行为对患有多发性硬化症的老年人大脑结构和认知功能的影响

目标 多发性硬化症 (MS) 治疗的进步导致患有该疾病的老年人数量增加。运动已被证明对“健康老龄化”非常有益，而久坐行为已被证明具有更有害的影响。尽管有证据表明这些因素的影响，但它们对患有 MS 的老年人的影响在很大程度上是未知的。目前的研究利用体积测量和图论来调查患有 MS 的老年人的身体活动/久坐行为、结构性大脑指数和认知之间的关系。方法 在结构性 MRI 协议期间对 27 名患有 MS 的老年人 (55+) 进行扫描，并使用多发性硬化症功能复合和符号数字模态测试进行认知评估。计算图论指标以检查白质网络特性。FreeSurfer 用于计算皮层下结构的体积。运动被量化为“每周从事中等活动的天数”，而久坐行为被量化为“每天坐着的小时数”。结果进行了多元回归相互作用分析。结果显示锻炼与年龄相互作用，这样锻炼可以防止年龄对丘脑体积和分类的负面影响。即使在控制运动后，每天坐着的时间也被证明会增加衰老对结构网络的负面影响。最后，在该样本中，观察到运动可以防止与年龄相关的认知能力下降。