Baseline variables of patients and controlsa
| Natalizumab (n = 25) | IFNb/GA (n = 18) | Healthy Controls (n = 12) | P Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (yr) | 36.0 ± 8.9 | 38.2 ± 5.0 | 37.6 ± 8.7 | .619 |
| Sex (male/female) | 9:16 | 9:9 | 3:9 | .368 |
| EDSSb,c | 3.0 (1.5–6.5) | 2.5 (1.0–6.5) | .589 | |
| Duration since onset (yr) | 7.9 ± 6.1 | 8.8 ± 5.3 | .550 | |
| Prior IFNb/GA duration at baseline (yr) | 2.6 ± 3.0 | 4.4 ± 3.9 | .121 | |
| Brain volumes | ||||
| NGMV (L) | 0.75 ± 0.04 | 0.73 ± 0.05 | 0.77 ± 0.04 | .063 |
| NWMV (L) | 0.70 ± 0.03 | 0.69 ± 0.03 | 0.72 ± 0.04 | .061 |
| NBV (L) | 1.45 ± 0.05 | 1.42 ± 0.08 | 1.49 ± 0.07 | .020d |
| T2 lesion volume (mL)e | 6.1 (2.4–14.3) | 4.9 (2.4–11.9) | .599 |
Note:—EDSS indicates Expanded Disability Status Scale; NGMV, normalized total GM volume; NWMV, normalized total WM volume; NBV, normalized whole-brain volume.
↵a Data are mean ± SD. When normally distributed, a multivariate general linear model was used with age and sex included as covariates. Nonparametric testing was performed using Kruskal-Wallis and post hoc Mann-Whitney U tests.
↵b χ2 test.
↵c Median and range.
↵d Only significant between patients treated with IFNb/GA and healthy controls.
↵e Median and interquartile range.