Contrasting effects of cover crops on earthworms: Results from field monitoring and laboratory experiments on growth, reproduction and food choice

Cover crops are an essential element of sustainable agriculture and can affect earthworm populations. In a field trial, we investigated the effects of four cover crop treatments: radish (Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus B.; at high and low seed density), black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.) and Sudan grass (Sorghum sudanese M.) on earthworms under two irrigation regimes. The two parallel field trials (irrigated and rainfed) demonstrated the significance of soil moisture for earthworm abundance with lower numbers under rainfed black oat and Sudan grass compared with moister bare fallow in autumn (P < 0.05). Soil moisture content changed from autumn to spring and was highest under Sudan grass in both irrigation regimes (P < 0.05). Earthworm numbers equalised and were then similar in all treatments, but under rainfed cover crop treatments, earthworm populations gained 62.3 g g−1 in biomass from autumn to the following spring (P < 0.05). Laboratory experiments showed the importance of N content and more palatability of low C:N ratio radish for growth rate of juvenile Aporrectodea longa and cocoon production by Aporrectodea caliginosa. These two earthworm species showed a different preference in choice chamber experiments between roots and shoots. Radish was consumed first in three out of four experiments. Field and laboratory experiments highlighted the effects of cover crops on earthworm abundance, reproduction and development. Overall, our results showed that cover crops can support earthworm development, but under field conditions, soil moisture is more important. In the short-term, this can lead to a trade-off between plant biomass production and earthworm numbers

Improvement in fatigue during natalizumab treatment is linked to improvement in depression and day-time sleepiness

Background: Fatigue is a frequent symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS) and often interrelated with depression and sleep disorders making symptomatic treatment decisions difficult. In the single-arm, observational phase IVTYNERGY study, relapsing remitting MS patients showed a clinically meaningful decrease in fatigue over 1 year of treatment with natalizumab. Objective: To evaluate whether fatigue improvement might be directly linked to improved depression and day-time sleepiness. Methods: Patients were assessed regarding fatigue, depression, and day-time sleepiness. The relation between changes of the two latter symptoms and changes in fatigue was analyzed. Results: After 1 year of natalizumab treatment, the majority of patients (&gt;92%) remained stable or improved in total, motor, and cognitive fatigue. Proportion of patients without depression increased by 17% while proportions of mildly depressed patients or patients with potential major depression decreased by 5 and 12%, respectively. Proportion of patients classified as not being sleepy increased by 13% while proportions of sleepy and very sleepy patients decreased by 11 and 2%, respectively. Most importantly, improved depression and sleepiness were significantly related to improved fatigue. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the importance of patient-reported outcomes in identifying potential benefits of drug treatment beyond its well-established effects on disease activity and disability progression

Improvement in fatigue during natalizumab treatment is linked to improvement in depression and day-time sleepiness

Background: Fatigue is a frequent symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS) and often interrelated with depression and sleep disorders making symptomatic treatment decisions difficult. In the single-arm, observational phase IVTYNERGY study, relapsing remitting MS patients showed a clinically meaningful decrease in fatigue over 1 year of treatment with natalizumab. Objective: To evaluate whether fatigue improvement might be directly linked to improved depression and day-time sleepiness. Methods: Patients were assessed regarding fatigue, depression, and day-time sleepiness. The relation between changes of the two latter symptoms and changes in fatigue was analyzed. Results: After 1 year of natalizumab treatment, the majority of patients (&gt;92%) remained stable or improved in total, motor, and cognitive fatigue. Proportion of patients without depression increased by 17% while proportions of mildly depressed patients or patients with potential major depression decreased by 5 and 12%, respectively. Proportion of patients classified as not being sleepy increased by 13% while proportions of sleepy and very sleepy patients decreased by 11 and 2%, respectively. Most importantly, improved depression and sleepiness were significantly related to improved fatigue. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the importance of patient-reported outcomes in identifying potential benefits of drug treatment beyond its well-established effects on disease activity and disability progression

Reproducibility of Resting State Connectivity in Patients with Stable Multiple Sclerosis.

Given increasing efforts to use resting-state fMRI (rfMRI) as a biomarker of disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS) we here explored the reproducibility of longitudinal rfMRI over three months in patients with clinically and radiologically stable MS. To pursue this aim, two approaches were applied in nine rfMRI networks: First, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC 3,1) was assessed for the mean functional connectivity maps across the entire network and a region of interest (ROI). Second, the ratio of overlap between Z-thresholded connectivity maps for each network was assessed. We quantified between-session functional reproducibility of rfMRI for 20 patients with stable MS and 14 healthy controls (HC). Nine rfMRI networks (RSNs) were examined at baseline and after 3 months of follow-up: three visual RSNs, the default-mode network, sensorimotor-, auditory-, executive control, and the left and right fronto-parietal RSN. ROI analyses were constrained to thresholded overlap masks for each individual (Z>0) at baseline and follow-up.In both stable MS and HC mean functional connectivity across the entire network did not reach acceptable ICCs for several networks (ICC<0.40) but we found a high reproducibility of ROI ICCs and of the ratio of overlap. ROI ICCs of all nine networks were between 0.98 and 0.99 for HC and ranged from 0.88 to 0.99 in patients with MS, respectively. The ratio of overlap for all networks was similar for both groups, ranging from 0.60 to 0.75.Our findings attest to a high reproducibility of rfMRI networks not only in HC but also in patients with stable MS when applying ROI analysis. This supports the utility of rfMRI to monitor functional changes related to disease progression or therapeutic interventions in MS

Higher education moderates the effect of T2 lesion load and third ventricle width on cognition in multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND:Previous work suggested greater intellectual enrichment might moderate the negative impact of brain atrophy on cognition. This awaits confirmation in independent cohorts including investigation of the role of T2-lesion load (T2-LL), which is another important determinant of cognition in MS. We here thus aimed to test this cognitive reserve hypothesis by investigating whether educational attainment (EA) moderates the negative effects of both brain atrophy and T2-LL on cognitive function in a large sample of MS patients. METHODS:137 patients participated in the study. Cognition was assessed by the "Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests." T2-LL, normalized brain volume (global volume loss) and third ventricle width (regional volume loss) served as MRI markers. RESULTS:Both T2-LL and atrophy predicted worse cognition, with a stronger effect of T2-LL. Higher EA (as assessed by years of education) also predicted better cognition. Interactions showed that the negative effects of T2-LL and regional brain atrophy were moderated by EA. CONCLUSIONS:In a cohort with different stages of MS, higher EA attenuated the negative effects of white matter lesion burden and third ventricle width (suggestive of thalamic atrophy) on cognitive performance. Actively enhancing cognitive reserve might thus be a means to reduce or prevent cognitive problems in MS in parallel to disease modifying drugs

Predictive value of different conventional and non-conventional MRI-parameters for specific domains of cognitive function in multiple sclerosis

Objective: While many studies correlated cognitive function with changes in brain morphology in multiple sclerosis (MS), few of them used a multi-parametric approach in a single dataset so far. We thus here assessed the predictive value of different conventional and quantitative MRI-parameters both for overall and domain-specific cognitive performance in MS patients from a single center. Methods: 69 patients (17 clinically isolated syndrome, 47 relapsing–remitting MS, 5 secondary-progressive MS) underwent the “Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests” assessing overall cognition, cognitive efficiency and memory function as well as MRI at 3 Tesla to obtain T2-lesion load (T2-LL), normalized brain volume (global brain volume loss), normalized cortical volume (NCV), normalized thalamic volume (NTV), normalized hippocampal volume (NHV), normalized caudate nuclei volume (NCNV), basal ganglia R2* values (iron deposition) and magnetization transfer ratios (MTRs) for cortex and normal appearing brain tissue (NABT). Results: Regression models including clinical, demographic variables and MRI-parameters explained 22–27% of variance of overall cognition, 17–26% of cognitive efficiency and 22–23% of memory. NCV, T2-LL and MTR of NABT were the strongest predictors of overall cognitive function. Cognitive efficiency was best predicted by NCV, T2-LL and iron deposition in the basal ganglia. NTV was the strongest predictor for memory function and NHV was particularly related to memory function. Conclusions: The predictive value of distinct MRI-parameters differs for specific domains of cognitive function, with a greater impact of cortical volume, focal and diffuse white matter abnormalities on overall cognitive function, an additional role of basal ganglia iron deposition on cognitive efficiency, and thalamic and hippocampal volume on memory function. This suggests the usefulness of using multiparametric MRI to assess (micro)structural correlates of different cognitive constructs

Abnormalities of resting state functional connectivity are related to sustained attention deficits in MS.

ObjectivesResting state (RS) functional MRI recently identified default network abnormalities related to cognitive impairment in MS. fMRI can also be used to map functional connectivity (FC) while the brain is at rest and not adhered to a specific task. Given the importance of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) for higher executive functioning in MS, we here used the ACC as seed-point to test for differences and similarities in RS-FC related to sustained attention between MS patients and controls.DesignBlock-design rest phases of 3 Tesla fMRI data were analyzed to assess RS-FC in 31 patients (10 clinically isolated syndromes, 16 relapsing-remitting, 5 secondary progressive MS) and 31 age- and gender matched healthy controls (HC). Participants underwent extensive cognitive testing.ObservationsIn both groups, signal changes in several brain areas demonstrated significant correlation with RS-activity in the ACC. These comprised the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), insular cortices, the right caudate, right middle temporal gyrus, angular gyri, the right hippocampus, and the cerebellum. Compared to HC, patients showed increased FC between the ACC and the left angular gyrus, left PCC, and right postcentral gyrus. Better cognitive performance in the patients was associated with increased FC to the cerebellum, middle temporal gyrus, occipital pole, and the angular gyrus.ConclusionWe provide evidence for adaptive changes in RS-FC in MS patients compared to HC in a sustained attention network. These results extend and partly mirror findings of task-related fMRI, suggesting FC may increase our understanding of cognitive dysfunction in MS