Inflammation in the choroid plexus – a complex network of capillaries that produces cerebrospinal fluid, the clear, watery fluid that flows in and around the brain and spinal cord, cushions the brain and spinal cord from impact or injury, and removes waste products from the brain – may have a role in driving disease progression and disability in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new BNAC study. The research was led by Niels Bergsland, PhD, BNAC’s Integration Director and Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University at Buffalo. 

While previous studies have noted inflammation of the choroid plexus in people with MS, its correlation to the severity or pace of disability is not known. This study sought to better understand that association by analyzing MRI scans for 174 participants to compare this inflammation in people with MS to people without MS. The participants were between 18 and 75 years old, diagnosed with MS, and at the time of the MRI, were relapse-free and steroid-free. 

The research revealed that people with MS experienced more inflammation in the choroid plexus than people without MS. Researchers also found that the inflammation in this part of the brain was related to MS disability progression over a five-year period. The study suggests inflammation of the choroid plexus might play a role in how the disease worsens and may help clinicians predict disability progression.

This research article was published by Neurology.

Researchers: Niels Bergsland, PhD, Michael G. Dwyer, PhD, Dejan Jakimovski, MD, PhD, Eleonora Tavazzi, MD, Ralph H.B. Benedict, PHD, Bianca Weinstock-Guttman, MD, and Robert Zivadinov, MD, PhD