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Lipid profile: causal relationship on cognitive performance in multiple sclerosis?

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Abstract

Although cognitive impairment (CI) is classically associated with aging, it has been proposed that neurological pathologies may increase the risk to suffer CI. Despite the evidence of an elevated prevalence of CI in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), it is not considered among standard clinical evaluations, due the lack of specialists and time required. The aim of this study was to evaluate if lipid profile is associated with cognitive performance in persons with MS. Twenty patients with MS were evaluated. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was employed to determine cognitive performance. CI was observed in 85% of patients, with memory recall and language as the most affected domains. Despite biomarkers were mostly found within reference values, several correlations were observed. MoCA total score was correlated with cholesterol (r =  − 0.468, p = 0.037) and LDL (r =  − 0.453, p = 0.045). Visuospatial domain was correlated with LDL (r =  − 0.493, p = 0.027). Attention domain correlated with triglycerides (r =  − 0.455, p = 0.044) and cholesterol (r =  − 0.549, p = 0.012). When the person reaches borderline levels of triglycerides, LDL and cholesterol a decrease in cognitive performance can be observed. The mechanism underlying this association has not been established still, it has been proposed that it could be linked with neuroinflammation, alterations in synapses and in the metabolism of amyloid-β protein. This study settles the potential importance that lipid profile could have on cognitive performance in MS. Further studies are needed to establish optimal levels and implication of lipid profile in the diagnosis and monitoring of cognitive performance in Mexican people with MS.

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Acknowledgements

This project was partially supported by FOPER-2017 and FOPER-2018-00475 granted by Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Gerardo Trejo Cruz, Jocelyn Moreno-Camacho, Diego Ulises Vázquez Omaña and Victoria Garrido Sicilia for their technical support in MoCA and MiniPlus evaluation; and to CONACYT for J.M.C. graduated fellowship (784775) extended for Maestría en Ciencias en Neurometabolismo alumni. We also like to thank to Sinmielina EM de Querétaro, IAP for their support participating in this study.

Funding

This project was partially supported by FOPER-2017 and FOPER-2018–00475 granted by Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro and CONACYT graduated fellowship (784775) for J.M.C. Maestría en Ciencias en Neurometabolismo alumni.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Neuroinmunoendocrinología, Departamento de Investigación Biomédica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Clavel #200. Prados de la Capilla. CP 76170, Santiago de Querétaro, México

    Ana Laura Hernández-Ledesma & Adriana Jheny Rodríguez-Méndez

  2. Unidad de Medicina Familiar No. 13, Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social, Querétaro, México

    Lilia Susana Gallardo-Vidal

  3. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Santiago de Querétaro, México

    Teresa García-Gasca & Julia María Alatorre-Cruz

  4. Departamento de Investigación Biomédica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Santiago de Querétaro, México

    Pablo García-Solís & Juan Carlos Solís-Saínz

  5. Facultad de Medicina, Clínica del Sistema Nervioso, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Santiago de Querétaro, México

    Julián López Reyes

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  1. Ana Laura Hernández-Ledesma
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Correspondence to Adriana Jheny Rodríguez-Méndez.

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This work was approved by the Bioethics Committee of the Facultad de Medicina of Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (No. 01–02/06/2016).

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Hernández-Ledesma, A.L., Rodríguez-Méndez, A.J., Gallardo-Vidal, L.S. et al. Lipid profile: causal relationship on cognitive performance in multiple sclerosis?. Mol Biol Rep 47, 9667–9676 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-020-06011-3

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